GABRIEL PROSSER (SLAVE REVOLT)

Prosser Rebellion "First Major Slave Insurrection" August 30, 1800



The significance of the American Revolution, with its accompanying rhetoric about freedom, was not lost on a young slave named Gabriel who was owned by Virginian Thomas Prosser. Gabriel, also known as Gabriel Prosser, was an intelligent and deeply religious man. He was strongly influenced by the Biblical example of the Jews' flight for freedom as well as the 1790 slave revolution in Saint Domingue (Haiti). The end of the 18th century saw an increased freedom of movement for America's slaves; the accompanying increased interaction between the blacks and whites seemed to indicate that both races were becoming accustomed to their roles of master and servant. Gabriel Prosser, however, would demonstrate that not all blacks were satisfied with a life of servitude.

In the spring and summer of 1800, 25-year-old Prosser laid plans for a slave uprising; his goal was to make himself king of an independent black state carved out of Virginia. His plan called for an attack on Richmond in which the slaves would seize the arsenal and kill all the white people except Quakers, Methodists, and Frenchmen, all of whom Prosser considered "friendly to liberty". The relaxation of slave controls of the time gave Prosser opportunities to associate with other slaves and gather recruits for his plan.

Gabriel's army, estimated at about 1,000 slaves, gathered six miles outside Richmond on the night of August 30, 1800; they might have succeeded in their initial goals had a violent rainstorm not washed away bridges and flooded the roads. Before the insurrectionists could reorganize and reassemble, a black informer revealed the plan to white authorities. Upon orders from Gov. James Monroe, the state militia rounded up suspected slaves and put them on trial. Prosser and about 34 of his followers were convicted and hanged.

The extent of the rebellion- the first major slave insurrection in American history- greatly alarmed white Americans and resulted in a tightening of controls. New regulations greatly curtailed slaves' freedom of movement, and many states enacted laws that made educating slaves illegal.