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• 1 2021-12-01T18:27:58+00:00 Fire-Conspiracies, Rumors, Plots, Insurrections 1 plain 2021-12-01T18:27:58+00:00

  As a whole, North American slavery did experience its share of conspiracies, plots, and insurrections involving enslaved persons; however, none were as large or as disrupting as the Haitian Revolution. Among the most well-known North American insurrections are the Stono Rebellion, New York Slave Rebellion of 1712, Nat Turner Insurrection, and John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry. As for conspiracies and plots, the most famous are Gabrielle Processor Conspiracy of 1800 and the Denmark Vessey plot of 1822. True or false, fact or fiction, plot, rebellion, or rumor, there were real consequences and fear of a black uprising. The history of North Carolina is not without brief accounts of conspiracies, plots, and insurrections. The total number of plots will never be completely known. Nevertheless, we do know some things. 

  Although North Carolina did not have a large enslaved population, in comparison to Virginia and South Carolina, it still had its fair share of conspiracies, a handful of plots and rumors, and several maroon skirmishes; however, there was not a full out insurrection of enslaved people seeking to end the institution of slavery in comparison to Haiti or Stono Rebellion. 
  One of the few events that we can consider is an insurrection in North Carolina, which may have happened in 1753. A letter by President Rowan to Captain Wilkins of the H.M. Sloop [ship] Scorpion discussed that an insurrection was attempted in North Carolina, and the insurrection was the reason a ship was delayed in returning to England. President Rowan wrote, “The negroes who have lately attempted an insurrection among us, will have the less, to discourage them to repeat their attempts.” This event seems to carry some validity because the slave patrol was established in North Carolina in the same year. 

  The number of plots and conspiracies in North Carolina are scattered over time and span the state's geography. However, in each decade following the American Revolution, white North Carolinians had to contend with plots, rumors, or conspiracies. Among the most well-known was the Easter Plot of 1802. 

  This plot connected multiple counties and was considered to be a multistate endeavor. This two-phased plot was said to have originated in Virginia and moved into Northeast North Carolina by enslaved watermen. [Petition on discussing the fear and activities of those responding to the Easter plot HERE and HERE

  The rebellion conspiracy created fear among whites in Bertie County, where the plot was discovered. The fear increased due to a rumor that Windsor, the county seat of Bertie County, had been burned down by blacks. Although the plot seems legitimate, the burning of Windsor was not. Nevertheless, the consequences that followed were serious for enslaved and free people of color. 

  In total, 11 blacks were executed in Bertie county. Others were executed in other counties, such as Camden, Halifax, and other eastern counties. Several hundred blacks, enslaved or free, were jailed. It was said that 100 blacks were jailed in Martin county alone. Others were jailed in Elizabeth City. Patrols searched the housing of blacks for evidence or plans for securing black freedom in Hertford County. Several enslaved persons were whipped, others branded, whereas some were branded, whipped, and had their ears cropped. Example of a known execution HERE

  The extent of the plot seems to have been great, as it connected several counties. Nonetheless, the reaction to plots and white panic had greater force than the plot itself. White fear was dangerous and erratic, and often many blacks connected or unconnected with the plots were harmed. 

  Plots also encouraged whites to go after all blacks, in particular, hoping to capture and kill maroons located in the swamps, pocosins, or dense forest areas. They wanted those beyond the limits of the slave society or uncooperative enslaved persons, as these enslaved people and maroon people often damaged and stole white property. For instance, following a plot discovered in Virginia, “a party of men searched Cabarrus Pocosin and found a camp occupied by three men and two women.” The camp contained a “vast deal of plunder and a great number of keys.” The women were captured and the men killed.

  In addition, some patrols varied in their enforcement and at times were negligent of their duty but became very active during rumors, plots, and conspiracy. Petition example HERE
  
  

  Several plots and rumors abounded in the North Carolina antebellum period. There was a conspiracy in Wayne County in 1805. A runaway by the name of Yellow Jack remarked about this conspiracy that “all should be free, and that he saw no reason why the sweat of his brow should be expended in supporting the extravagance and idleness of any man.” Petition on Wayne County Conspiracy Here

  Plots and conspiracy had a major negative side—white fear. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When conspiracies were exposed and thought credible, repercussions were on the way. Black life was a candle in the wind and maroon communities were even more in danger during those times. During and after the Nat Turner rebellion, white fear gripped the state of North Carolina and the wholesale killing, punishing, and torture of black persons commenced in many places in North Carolina.

   After Turner’s rebellion, blacks in North Carolina were arrested and jailed in places such as Chowan, the county seat of Gates County. The Swamps of Juniper and the Dismal Swamp were searched, and 12 runaways were caught. In Halifax, Duplin, and Sampson, all enslaved males were jailed, and a number of enslaved and free blacks were killed. The reaction and fear of Nat Turner’s Rebellion was so severe that some whites in Chapel Hill fled to the swamps and after some time left the swamp, “muddy and half-starved.” 

  Turner’s rebellion, along with growing anti-slavery activity and literature such as David Walker's Appeal provoked white North Carolinians to tighten their already firm grip on slaves and free blacks. Yet despite this tightening, plots and/or conspiracies continued. There were conspiracies and plots in Tarboro, Camden, New Bern, and Hillsborough in 1816, Rutherford in 1831, Elizabeth City in 1835, Craven County in 1840, Pitt County in 1851 and Plymouth and Washington in 1860. 

  Conspiracies, plots, and even small skirmishes were major threats and cannot be discounted when seen as potential insurrections. It is crucial to keep in mind that North Carolina was not as populated as it is today and neither was communication as fast as it is today. The threat of a major well-organized slave insurrection was a real possibility and whites had to respond to any threat, rumor or plot, whether serious or not so serious, forced whites to ensure any perceived threat had severe feedback.