Denmark Vesey
In the article, there is much speculation about where and when Denmark Vesey was born. Not much is known about his early life. He could be born in West Africa in 1767 or into slavery in the West Indies. In either case, he ended up as a slave to the slave-ship captain when he was very young. He traveled many times, transversely the Atlantic, and learned life on the sea. From his travels, he became very well educated in different languages. He comprehended Spanish as well as English, and also French. In 1783, the captain left from sailing the ocean and took Vesey to South Carolina and started sales of slaves and ships. Vesey took up carpentry and eventually bought his freedom. After gaining his freedom, Vesey began to plan an uprising.
Many other worldwide events were occurring during Vesey’s life that may have influenced his plan of insurrection. The French Rebellion in 1789 freed France from the overbearing monarchy and gave the world the idea that new governments could be set up and new systems put in place to provide the power to the people. This idea would be very inspiring to Vesey, who wanted to take control of the whites and give it to the slaves. Haiti had also struggled to gain its independence in 1804. This was a pivotal event because Vesey planned to escape to Haiti once the slaves had rebelled. There, the slaves wouldn’t get caught, and they would also be free. Leading up to 1822, at least two other slave conspiracies influenced Vesey’s plan to rebel against the whites. One occurred in Virginia in 1800 and was lead by Gabriel Prosser; the other was lead by Camden in 1816. Both of these events lead Vesey to believe that he could also start a rebellion in South Carolina. Another event that influenced Vesey and urged him towards planning a rebellion was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This Compromise caused allowed Maine to be acknowledged as a free-state while Missouri as a slave-state. This event pushed Vesey to make a move to try to end slavery before it spread even further.
Vesey had a way with words. He used persuasion to attain his two lieutenants, and his league of followers only grew from there. He planned to wait until July 14th, Bastille Day, and then execute all of the slaveholders in Charleston. The slaves would later escape to Haiti. Vesey’s plan fell through, however, when two slaves leaked the plan to Charleston authorities. Thirty-five slaves were hanged, including Vesey, while 135 were arrested. In all, 9,000 people are estimated to have been involved in the plot to overthrow Charleston.
The Black Saxons, written by Lydia Child, also occurs in the town of Charleston, South Carolina. The piece was written in 1841 and may have been greatly influenced by the rebellion of Denmark Vesey. Many parallels can be drawn between Denmark Vesey’s revolt and the plot in The Black Saxons. The Black Saxons were written from the view of a white, lenient slaveholder who suspected his slaves of planning a rebellion instead of going to a Methodist meeting. When he sneaks into the meeting, he hears at least two slaves speak of mercy towards their masters, while many other slaves oppose them. Most of the slaves want to kill all of the slaveholders, but a few want to leave their masters alive. Also, just as Vesey was a powerful speaker, there were a few powerful speakers at the slave meeting in the book. These speakers persuade most of the others to join in on the plot, but a few slaves were very hesitant to agree to murder their masters. These slaves could very well represent the two slaves that ratted out Vesey’s plot to Charleston authorities, or it could be a coincidence that Vesey’s plot and the story line up very closely with each other. On the other hand, it could be that Child was using Vesey as inspiration for her story. In any case, this rebellion occurred during her lifetime and may have had a considerable impact on her and influenced her writing.
Vesey’s rebellion also had a significant impact on society in the 19th century. As slave rebellions started up, slaveholders in the south became very afraid of their slaves starting a revolution. Also, the whites in the North began to realize the horrors the slaves went through, and abolitionists began to demand the freedom of slaves fervently. These rebellions were the beginning of the end; they would finally culminate at the end of the Civil War when the union remained, and slavery was abolished.
Work cited
Rucker, Walter C. “I will gather all nations”: Resistance, culture, and pan-African
collaboration in Denmark Vesey’s South Carolina.” The Journal of Negro History 86.2 (2001): 132-147.