New York slave rebellion of 1712

New York slave rebellion of 1712, a violent insurrection of slaves in New York City that resulted in brutal executions and the enactment of harsher slave codes.

The population of New York City in 1712 numbered between 6,000 and 8,000 people, of whom approximately 1,000 were slaves. Unlike Southern plantations, where groups of slaves were relatively isolated from one another, the slaves in New York City were in frequent contact with each other, even if owned by different people.

The rebellion of 1712 was instigated by African-born slaves, who used the tenets of African-based religion to encourage other slaves to revolt, calling for a war on Christians. On the night of April 6, 1712, a group of slaves set fire to an outhouse at the home of Peter Van Tilburgh (Van Tilborough, Vantilbourgh) on Maiden Lane at what was then the northern edge of Manhattan. The fire was a signal to other slaves to begin the revolt. When the white people came out of their homes, they were confronted by a band of 23 slaves (though some sources say there were anywhere from 50 to 100) standing in front of the burning house, armed with guns, axes, and knives. The slaves fired into the crowd of whites, causing panic. Some people ran to the Battery (a fortification on the lower tip of Manhattan) to alert New York’s governor, Robert Hunter, who sent the militia to deal with the rioters. Upon seeing the armed soldiers, the rioting slaves ran north toward a wooded swamp.

The soldiers, along with armed bystanders, swept the city for the rioters, capturing many of them near present-day Canal Street. Nine whites were killed in the riot, and six were wounded. Rather than await trial and certain incarceration (or worse), six slaves committed suicide. Of the approximately 40 slaves brought to trial, 18 were acquitted and a few others were pardoned. The rest were brutally executed: four were burned alive; one was crushed by a wheel; one was kept in chains until he starved to death; a pregnant woman was kept alive until she gave birth and was then executed; and the others were hanged. In response to that slave rebellion, strict codes were enacted, which included—but were not limited to—harsher punishments as the slaveholders saw fit, decreased contact among slaves, and the prohibition of slave-owned firearms.