Nat Turner's slave rebellion took place in Southampton, Virginia. It lasted four days, and upwards of fifty to sixty people died in the uprising. Nat Turner was a slave preacher who felt he had a higher calling from god. Though Turner preached to his fellow slaves, his flock were not exclusively Black people. by 1828, he felt that God was commanding him to smite the wicked. For Nat, this meant the slave-owning whites. He shared this calling with four fellow slaves. When an eclipse occurred in February of 1831, he felt that was his sign that it was time to begin. Turner and the four men he entrusted began to carefully spread the word. Some believe the way they did this was by using songs that only fellow slaves would recognize as a sign to strike. Though initially planned for the 4th of July holiday, issues caused it to be delayed, so the actual rebellion didn't start until August 21st. The rebellion started with a few men Nat trusted, but eventually grew to more than 70 men. The group traveled from house to house, killing the white people they found there, and freeing all the slaves in residence. The rebellion was stopped by the state militia, and Nat Turner went into hiding. He eluded capture for six weeks, but was ultimately captured and tried for leading the rebellion. In the meantime, whites had taken out their fear on the slaves in the area, both those involved in the rebellion as well as those who had not been. This violence had continued for two weeks after the rebellion, killing an estimated 200 Black people (women and children as well as men). Turner was tried and convicted, and sentenced to death. When asked if he regretted what he had done, he said, "Was Christ not crucified?" He was hung a few days later. In the aftermath of the rebellion, many states tightened laws about slaves being allowed to read, which is what they believed allowed Turner to plan and execute his rebellion.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
- Smithsonian Magazine: Understanding the Gospel of Nat Turner
- Time: The Birth of a Nation and Nat Turner in His Own Words
- National Geographic: Nat Turner's Uprising Left Complex Legacy
- Britannica: Nat Turner
- PBS: Nat Turner's Rebellion
- History: Nat Turner
- History: Nat Turner Executed in Virginia
- Nat Turner's Rebellion
- Nat Turner
- Nat Turner
- Nat Turner Biography
- A Rebellion to Remember: The Legacy of Nat Turner
- The Nat Turner Project
As one of the major uprisings we know of in the continental US, it's one we hear about all the time. And while it was vicious, they were fighting back against people who participated in enslaving them. That's very important to remember. The people who joined into this rebellion had been living through hell already. This is also important to keep in mind when thinking of what is going on today.
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