Slave No More by Helg Aline; Vergnaud Lara;

Author:Helg, Aline; Vergnaud, Lara;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Gabriel Prosser’s Conspiracy and the Louisiana Revolt:

Two Movements Unrelated to Saint Domingue

As slavery declined in Curaçao and continental Spanish America, it rose dramatically in the southern United States. Between 1791 and 1812, the number of slaves in the southern states continued to increase, due both to natural growth rates and to the importation of African captives (see chapter 5). The total slave population in the South went from 650,000 in 1790 to more than 1,100,000 in 1810.48 Slaves were increasingly employed in the new production of cotton, though many continued to farm rice, tobacco, and sugarcane or work as domestic servants, transportation workers, or specialized artisans. At the same time, in the majority of the northern states, the enslaved population was shrinking following the adoption of laws that gradually abolished slavery, as well as due to emancipations. New York and New Jersey were the only states where slaves still numbered in the thousands.49

As in Cuba, the Haitian Revolution contributed to the development of slavery in the southern United States. Shortly after 1791, planters from the ravaged French colony had begun to seek refuge in the southern states, bringing slaves with them, notably to South Carolina and Virginia. Residents of those states welcomed the refugees with a mix of empathy and distrust—they feared the pernicious influence of slaves who had experienced revolution firsthand. Stories about the “horrors of Saint Domingue” abounded, as did rumors of conspiracies. In addition, authorities tended to link certain rebellious acts by one or more slaves to one another, creating the impression that they were part of a dangerous interstate network. For example, in August 1793, the interception of an anonymous letter by a “Secret Keeper” mentioning the enlistment of thousands of men prompted fears that a slave revolt with nationwide ramifications was about to erupt in Charleston. Various incidents involving slaves residing anywhere between Albany (New York) and Georgia were interpreted as links in a vast conspiracy with connections to the French Antilles. The arrival of religious practices from Saint Domingue, such as voodoo, further amplified some state officials’ concerns.50

It was against that backdrop that, on 30 August 1800, Pharaoh and Tom Sheppard, two slaves from Richmond, Virginia, warned their master that a conspiracy involving dozens or possibly hundreds of slaves would begin in town that very night before spreading across the region. According to historians who have studied a detailed transcription of the defendants’ coerced statements, the documents indicate that, in this case, the slaves had in fact been conspiring to liberate themselves for several months. Gabriel’s conspiracy, named after its primary organizer, Gabriel Prosser, a literate enslaved blacksmith, included his brother Salomon and several other enslaved artisans who recruited supporters at their work sites and social gatherings such as ceremonies at black Baptist churches, funerals, and Sunday barbecues. The conspirators secretly transformed spades and other farm instruments into swords and lances and gathered munitions. Well aware of the regional political situation, they were counting on taking advantage of divisions among white Virginians, between Thomas

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