Gabriel’s plot of 1800: the story of the failed uprising

About the author:

Andrey A. Shumakov, Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Associate Professor, Department of Humanities, Tula Branch of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics; takamori@rambler.ru

Abstract:

This article analyzes one of the most significant, yet understudied events in African-American history. The Virginia Conspiracy or the Gabriel Conspiracy of 1800 is considered the most famous case of organizing a mass armed uprising of slaves in the United States. Inspired by the ideas and examples of the American, Great French and Haitian revolutions, black slaves tried not just to raise an uprising and achieve liberation, but actually challenged the slave-owning orders of the entire white South. The scale and geography of the conspiracy leave no doubt that it originally implied a mass armed demonstration, which was to begin simultaneously in several cities of Virginia and spread to neighboring states. The purpose of this study is to analyze and restore the chronicle of the main events related to the Virginia Conspiracy of 1800. The materials of the trial and some periodicals act as a source base, while the author also relies on the research of leading American experts on this topic. The main objectives of the study include: to consider the background of the conspiracy and some issues of Gabriel’s early biography and to study the process of preparing a speech and the immediate implementation of the plan. The article also analyzes the consequences of the events of 1800 for the legislation of Virginia and the entire white South. The main methods are historical-descriptive and comparative-historical, allowing to draw the necessary parallels with similar historical phenomena, such as the Virginia Uprising led by Nat Turner in 1831. The conclusion shows that the slave conspiracy of 1800 was planned in the most careful way, while the reason for its failure was a combination of purely subjective factors. Simultaneously, Gabriel’s failed rebellion demonstrated the vulnerability of the White South in the face of slave uprisings, as well as the high degree of self-organization of the Black community and the beginning of the formation of an African-American identity.

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