New York City Slave Uprising

[williepete]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

 

[Publius1787]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

So what?

 

[tyroneweaver]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

I've never been able to understand slavery. Why it was introduced into America
How so called Bible believing Christians allowed it to happen

 

[JakeStarkey]

Gentiles and LDS alike, Tyrone, had slaves in Utah Territory until 1865. John Burton of Parowan, a slave of Susan McCord Robinson, is one example. She owned him until he died that year. I don't understand it, either.

 

[Stephanie]

Unfortunately from what I've seen the people living there are still slaves.

slaves to the state and to a government who just walks all over them

 

[Steven_R]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

I've never been able to understand slavery. Why it was introduced into America
How so called Bible believing Christians allowed it to happen

1) Endless supply of free labor thanks to Africans selling other Africans
2) Blacks weren't viewed as being human beings like whites.
3) Christians were doing their God-given duty to convert the heathens
4) The English and colonists were already a highly stratified society
5) Slavery still existed in Russia in the form of serfdom.

 

[JakeStarkey]

1) Endless supply of free labor thanks to Africans, Arabs, and Europeans selling Africans.

Glad we got that correct.

 

[JakeStarkey]

"Blacks weren't viewed as being human beings like whites" at least not until the Second Great Awakening when the churches decided the blacks had souls..

 

[JakeStarkey]

"Christians were doing their God-given duty to convert the heathens" was certainly one of the affirmative defenses by Southerners for African American chattel slavery.

 

[JakeStarkey]

"The English and colonists were already a highly stratified society" as were the societies in Africa.

 

[jillian]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

and? it was 1712.

what year did the south give up its slaves?

 

[JakeStarkey]

"Slavery still existed in Russia in the form of serfdom" and in the United States indentured servitude, particularly in Illinois, still existed. Slavery also existed in Cuba and Brazil.

 

[williepete]

and? it was 1712.

what year did the south give up its slaves?

Oh, no argument. I fully get your point. Slavery was perfectly fine in the north. Bad in the South.

 

[Publius1787]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

I've never been able to understand slavery. Why it was introduced into America
How so called Bible believing Christians allowed it to happen

Quite easy really. The British ran out of felons, degenerates, and religious minorities to send to North America to gather resources long depleted in Europe leaving them at a competitive disadvantage. Wood, for example, was desperately needed to make ships, and France, Spain, and the Brits had all depleted their resources. That's why when you go to these countries you will notice that there are vast plains with no forests. So in competition against each other they send their prison population, entrepreneurs, and religious/political minorities to the New World. However, they too weren't enough.

Slave labor was easy enough to find. First indentured servants, and later, slaves. In fact, the first documented slave owner in North America was a black man. They started enslaving blacks when the local tribes would offer the bounty from their raids in return for European goods. Shoes, oddly enough, were very popular among the African tribes. Being that quinine was not invented until about 200-300 years later, whites could not go into Africa's interior without catching malaria. So they relied principally on Africans to raid other Africans. When you think about it, it makes sense really. Both the African tribes and the Europeans had a legitimate economic and national security interest in enslaving Africans.

Of course the economic system of the day was mercantilism. Import small, export big, grow your armed forces, and provide an incentive to keep your enemies off of your shores. Colonization gave them an economic boost as did slavery. Some work was harder than others. Spain, the number one slaver in Europe, grew sugar. It was deadly and hard work. Heat and malaria both were contributing factors to the hardship of such labor. The same can be said for their colonies in South America. So why not let slaves do it? Makes sense.

When the slave trade was outlawed in the U.S. in 1808, slavery was largely on the decline. The outlawing of the slave trade actually incentivized the extension of slavery in the United States. Think, for example, if the U.S. outlawed the importation of widgets and you happen to have 1000 of them. The price of your widgets would skyrocket! Thus, a practice that was seeing less and less profitability as the farmers could not justify the upkeep of their slaves when matched against the growing infertility of the soil, suddenly found out that slavery was now a nice investment, and they could borrow against the value of their slaves. And when you're a farmer, you spend your life in perpetual debt, borrowing every season, the slaves don't belong to you but the bank. This also prolonged the practice of slavery. You can't sell what you don't own.

So lets not get up on our high horse and shake our head in sham and exclaim "well golly gee I don't know how someone could engage in such a practice." Throughout history slavery has been a practical, necessary, and common practice in all cultures everywhere. If it weren't for a capitalist economic system we may well be continuing the practice today. Essentially, capitalism and industrialism destroyed slavery. You have no incentive to keep slaves when a simple slave revolt or a mischievous fella in the machine factory could destroy you from the inside out with little effort. Better pay the fella.

Oddly enough it was not the Africans who ended slavery in Africa. It was the Brits who had moral objections and have had an established legal practice which incentivized rule of law. This same incentive toward rule of law applied to the U.S. and Declaration of Independence was often invoked when advocating against slavery. So Europeans didn't start the practice of slavery, but their cultural inclinations toward the advancement of rule of law and religious piety ended it. Africa was driven out of the practice along with the Arabs kicking and screaming, and today you could argue that they still haven't stopped.

So that's the short of it. Every thing else you see people arguing about here is just a distraction.

 

[williepete]

What's instructive on this anniversary of the New York City Slave Rebellion is how once again, our education system has failed us. I'd wager many people reading this today had no idea there were ever slaves north of the Mason-Dixon Line. What also escapes the minds of your young after passing through our schools is that slavery was brought to the New World by European powers. Slavery was ended in North America by the United States. As much as academics love to run down the United States, they can't hang the importation of slavery on a government that eventually removed itself by force from the European fold.


The Origins of New World Slavery

By the beginning of the 18th century, black slaves could be found in every New World area colonized by Europeans, from Nova Scotia to Buenos Aires. While the concentrations of slave labor were greatest in England's southern colonies, the Caribbean, and Latin America, where slaves were employed in mines or on sugar, rice, tobacco, and cotton plantations, slaves were also put to work in northern seaports and on commercial farms. In 1690, one out of every nine families in Boston owned a slave.

It was not inevitable that Europeans in the New World would rely on African slaves to raise crops, clear forests, and mine precious metals. In every New World colony, Europeans experimented with Indian slavery, convict labor, and white indentured servants.

Why did every European power eventually turn to African labor? Europeans imported African slaves partly for demographic reasons. As a result of epidemic diseases, which reduced the native population by 50 to 90 percent, the labor supply was insufficient to meet demand. Africans were experienced in intensive agriculture and raising livestock and knew how to raise crops like rice that Europeans were unfamiliar with.

Initially, English colonists relied on indentured white servants rather than on black slaves. Over half of all white immigrants to the English colonies during the 17th century consisted of convicts or indentured servants.

Digital History

 

[Agit8r]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

I've never been able to understand slavery. Why it was introduced into America
How so called Bible believing Christians allowed it to happen

Plenty of pro-slavery passages in the Bible.

 

[Syriusly]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

Absolutely true.

Slavery is a stain on the history of our entire country.

The difference between the North and the South is that the North ended slavery voluntarily, while the South attempted to secede to preserve and promote the institution of slavery.

 

[Syriusly]

Slavery was ended in North America by the United States. As much as academics love to run down the United States, they can't hang the importation of slavery on a government that eventually removed itself by force from the European fold.

Hmmm no.

Slavery was ended in the United States by the United States after putting down a rebellion to preserve slavery.
Mexico abolished slavery in 1813.
Canada abolished slavery in 1819.

The United States allowed and supported slavery until 1865. That we did end the vile institution is to our credit- but that doesn't mean that from we should ignore the fact that from the founding of the United States until 1865- slavery was legal and enforced by our government.

 

[Syriusly]

Unfortunately from what I've seen the people living there are still slaves.

slaves to the state and to a government who just walks all over them

Stephanie once again demonstrates her essential inability to understand the meanings of words.

 

[tyroneweaver]

Today in history reminds us slavery in America was not just an issue in the South.

New York City Slave Uprising

Between twenty-five and fifty blacks congregated at midnight in New York City, New York on April 6, 1712. With guns, swords and knives in hand the slaves first set fire to an outhouse then fired shots at several white slave owners, who had raced to scene to fight the fire. By the end of the night, nine whites were killed and six whites were injured. The next day the governor of New York ordered the New York and Westchester militias to “drive the island.” With the exception of six rebels who committed suicide before they were apprehended, all of the rebels were captured and punished with ferocity ranging from being burned alive, to being broken by a wheel.

But the swift punishment of the guilty was not enough to quell the concerns of slave owners and their political body. Within months, the New York Assembly passed “an act for preventing, suppressing and punishing the conspiracy and insurrection of Negroes and other slaves.” Masters were permitted to punish their slaves at their full discretion, “not extending to life or member.” Even the manumission of New York slaves was deterred by this bill; masters were required to pay two hundred pounds security to the government and a twenty-pound annuity to the freed slave. Despite these stringent laws, New York would escape slave rebellion for only twenty-nine years.

See more at:
New York City Slave Uprising (1712) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

I've never been able to understand slavery. Why it was introduced into America
How so called Bible believing Christians allowed it to happen

Plenty of pro-slavery passages in the Bible.

Isaiah criticized Israel of some that made sex slave of their slaves.
Uncovering the nakedness of a slave (sex) was forbidden.