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Denmark Vesey: The Buried Story of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It
In a remarkable feat of historical detective work, David Robertson illuminates the shadowy figure who planned a slave rebellion so daring that, if successful, it might have changed the face of the antebellum South. This is the story of a man who, like Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, and Malcolm X, is a complex yet seminal hero in the history of African American emancipation.Denmark Vesey was a charasmatic ex-slave--literate, professional, and relatively well-off--who had purchased his own freedom with the winnings from a lottery. Inspired by the success of the revolutionary black republic in Haiti, he persuaded some nine thousand slaves to join him in a revolt. On a June evening in 1822, having gathered guns, and daggers, they were to converge on Charleston, South Carolina, take the city's arsenal, murder the populace, burn the city, and escape by ship to Haiti or Africa. When the uprising was betrayed, Vesey and seventy-seven of his followers were executed, the matter hushed by Charleston's elite for fear of further rebellion. Compelling, informative, and often disturbing, this book is essential to a fuller understanding of the struggle against slavery.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 24, 2018
Good history. Robertson not only traces the development and fall of the planned revolt but the reason why some people thought Denmark Vesey wasn't involved. Something that Robertson disproves.
August 8, 2015
Mentioned during the news coverage of the Charleston shootings, Denmark Vesey was a freed slave who preached at the AME Church and attempted to organize an uprising in 1822. The plan was discovered, and after several tense days, followed by arrests, "trials", and executions (35 slaves and free blacks were hanged). Although the historical record is sparse, the author provides a fascinating look into the Southern slave society of the early 19th century. Really an amazing story little discussed in our mainstream history.
December 16, 2019
Great documentation and trace of history. Denmark Vesey understood the use of accomidationalism: the practice of preaching that slavery was a divine and necessary institution by whites, long before any one else spoke of it. He turned that same knowledge into power for the slaves. Some of his philosophy is still used today within the A. M. E. church.
December 27, 2018
Good read
The author presents a very compelling view of Denmark Vesey. Well researched and easy to follow. Highly recommend for an historical perspective of slavery and the fight for liberation.
The author presents a very compelling view of Denmark Vesey. Well researched and easy to follow. Highly recommend for an historical perspective of slavery and the fight for liberation.
August 13, 2020
This is a fascinating book about probably the most unknown revolutionary in American history. Denmark Vesey (the best name in the world-instead of becoming Johnny King as a kid playing, I would have been Denmark Vesey if I had heard of them then) meticulously planned, from 1817 to 1822, a large slave revolt in Charleston, S.C. Involving 9000 slaves and freemen, with plans for making and stealing arms, the venture included overwhelming the sparser white population in June, 1822, killing all whites, including women and children, and escaping on harbored ships to Haiti and Africa. Vesey, a free man, was a prosperous carpenter in Charleston, who, through exhortation, through religion, through guilt, put together a revolt that was only undone at the last moment by betrayal of a couple of his conspirators. Robertson weaves a concise history of the Charleston slave trade and the S.C. low country in the early nineteenth century. Not a lot is known about Vesey; as far as we know, security demanded that written plans remain scarce and then destroyed and the speedy "trials" of the accused, that resulted in seventy-four men being hanged, allowed for no appeals nor any time nor opportunity for written memoirs by Vesey. Vesey remains a fascinating character, still both lauded and castigated. Why would Vesey, who had bought his own freedom, a successful artisan in Charleston, have risked everything for a slave revolt? Perhaps he was one who burned at injustice, who sought to would do anything to overthrow something so vile and inhumane, even at personal risk. There are still people like that today, who weigh justice more important than self-interest and personal security. The most criticism concerns Vesey's direct instructions that all whites-women and children included- were to be killed. He responded that when you destroyed lice, you didn't leave the nits. This was slavery they were revolting against, a societal abomination that all Charleston whites, either directly by owning slaves or indirectly by silent support, participated in. We whine about wearing masks part of the time to protect our neighbors; slavery is unfathomable to us. Robertson relates that one of Vesey's betrayers was given his freedom by the S.C. legislature. He then acquired his own slaves and then sold the son of one couple for $235. So to Vesey, white Charleston children meant as much to Vesey as black slave children to white Charlestonians. Vesey was a church goer; was he a Christian? Who knows, though he did use the Bible in his appeals for conspirators, particularly Joshua and Exodus. And finally what becomes apparent is that the reference to Charleston as the "holy" city was and is laughable. The revolt never occurred; these men were hanged for the planning. But if Vesey had not been betrayed, what would have run in the streets of Charleston would not have been the pretty pastel colors of the houses along the Battery.
November 7, 2023
This was a really well-researched book on one of America's largest slave revolts that never ended up happening in South Carolina. The book did an excellent job of painting the picture of what made 1800s Charleston unique in America at that time. I love how the book made the connection between Charleston and South Carolina's Barbadian roots and its demographic make up at the time of Denmark Vesey. Both places were, at the time of the failed revolt, almost 95% black. Such a large majority of a town or island's population being slaves makes it ripe for a revolt, even with the power dynamics between the races the way they were. The difference between the atmosphere of Barbados and in the Caribbean in general and the United States comes down to the "curtains" that both the white ruling class and the black slave class upheld in the United States, which the book touches on.
In the Caribbean, the ruling white class was on constant alert of possible revolts due to them being massively outnumbered. The slaveowners, despite owning their "property", were afraid of it at the same time. Dynamics in the United States in the 1800s were much different. Slave holders in the United States thought their slaves were too dumb or simply too loyal to the parental figure that they thought the represented in their slaves' lives to even attempt to pull off a rebellion. The reason Denmark Vesey's plot almost went ahead was because the Mayor of Charleston believed that one of the slaves that worked with him directly would never betray him, and declined to ask the state for a heavy police force presence the day they were tipped off for until they got word from other black slaves that the rebellion was on. This belief that the slaves were too dumb or too loyal was what the author called the Magnolia Curtain. The slaves were able to play on the perception of them as too dumb, and in the case of Denmark Vessey and his fellow rebels they used it to their advantage. The author calls this the Sable Curtain. When Vessey's right hand men were first brought into interrogation weeks before the date that the rebellion was supposed to take place, they simply acted dumb and were released the next day. Rage often builds behind the Sable Curtain, which the author argues was what caused slave rebellions throughout the United States.
This provided fresh perspective on America in the 1800s, and was an incredibly well-researched read into one of America's bravest ever people, Denmark Vesey.
In the Caribbean, the ruling white class was on constant alert of possible revolts due to them being massively outnumbered. The slaveowners, despite owning their "property", were afraid of it at the same time. Dynamics in the United States in the 1800s were much different. Slave holders in the United States thought their slaves were too dumb or simply too loyal to the parental figure that they thought the represented in their slaves' lives to even attempt to pull off a rebellion. The reason Denmark Vesey's plot almost went ahead was because the Mayor of Charleston believed that one of the slaves that worked with him directly would never betray him, and declined to ask the state for a heavy police force presence the day they were tipped off for until they got word from other black slaves that the rebellion was on. This belief that the slaves were too dumb or too loyal was what the author called the Magnolia Curtain. The slaves were able to play on the perception of them as too dumb, and in the case of Denmark Vessey and his fellow rebels they used it to their advantage. The author calls this the Sable Curtain. When Vessey's right hand men were first brought into interrogation weeks before the date that the rebellion was supposed to take place, they simply acted dumb and were released the next day. Rage often builds behind the Sable Curtain, which the author argues was what caused slave rebellions throughout the United States.
This provided fresh perspective on America in the 1800s, and was an incredibly well-researched read into one of America's bravest ever people, Denmark Vesey.
February 24, 2022
Simply amazing
This book should be read by everyone regardless of the color of their skin, political affiliation or religious beliefs. Expertly researched and brutally honest. I had never heard of Denmark Vesey and after reading this book it is clear why he is not taught in schools. A powerful figure, who although I do not agree with the harming of any innocent person, embodies the natural human necessity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Great read
This book should be read by everyone regardless of the color of their skin, political affiliation or religious beliefs. Expertly researched and brutally honest. I had never heard of Denmark Vesey and after reading this book it is clear why he is not taught in schools. A powerful figure, who although I do not agree with the harming of any innocent person, embodies the natural human necessity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Great read
April 2, 2008
Based on one of the many people I never learned about in school! What an engrossing tale of courage and betrayal. I grew so involved with Mr. Vesey's story that I decided to use the uprising as the backdrop of my upcoming historical novel "Passion's Furies".
July 15, 2018
“Buried” is right, but Robertson does a great job piecing together the limited existing facts/research and admitted inference in order to create an exciting historical narrative that wraps you up in the story.
January 21, 2019
Enlightening!
February 9, 2019
Excellent historical construct of a man and men who defy oppression for liberty.
January 13, 2021
Good info
Good read and informative. I did not know much about him, but I am inspired boby his story, Likes it alot.
Good read and informative. I did not know much about him, but I am inspired boby his story, Likes it alot.
December 2, 2019
I am embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Denmark Vesey before reading this book. He was a remarkable man. According to the report from his trial, he was born into slavery in St. Thomas (then a Denmark colony), purchased as a young adolescent by Joseph Vesey—a sea captain and slave merchant—and then sold to a planter in French Saint-Domingue (Haiti). This was a brutal life, and Vesey escaped it by (likely faking) epileptic fits (there is no record of Vesey having epileptic seizures later on). Capt. Vesey reclaimed Vesey, returned the purchase price, and used Vesey as a personal assistant and interpreter in his slave trading. Vesey was fluent in at least three languages, literate, and a skilled carpenter, a trade that led to his freedom.
Robertson paints a detailed picture of Charleston, SC (where Capt. Vesey eventually settled, Vesey still his slave), where, by the early 18th century, blacks (the vast majority of whom were enslaved) outnumbered whites. The tensions inherent in a society and economy that was predicated on the minority whites’ bondage of the majority Africans and their descendants are clearly depicted. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it must have been a brutal place to live if black.
Robertson’s thesis is that white Charleston did everything it could to erase Vesey and his rebellion. A lot of what Robertson writes is convincing—the absence of any contemporary depictions of Vesey’s appearance, the minimization of what Vesey attempted in contemporaneous newspapers, and the suppression of the trial records (which themselves suppressed Vesey’s voice and motives, written as they were by the white, slave-owning judges) all make it difficult to get a handle on the interior life of Denmark Vesey.
What we know is that he purchased his freedom with the money he won in a lottery, having purchased a ticket with funds he earned as a carpenter hired out by his owner (one glaring omission in the book is Robertson’s failure to explain why Vesey’s lottery winnings were not given to his owner, Capt. Vesey—was there some law that gave Vesey—then himself property—a property interest in the winnings? Did Capt. Vesey have a legal right to the funds but let Vesey keep them or enough to buy his freedom? Robertson is silent on these questions). We know also that he lived another 22 years as a free man, running a carpentry business, helping to found the AME Church in Charleston, and associating far more with slaves than other free blacks. We know that he was willing to risk his freedom and his life in an effort to free the slaves of greater Charleston, and that he displayed tremendous courage and resolve when arrested, charged, and, eventually, executed.
But we don’t know why he was willing to take such an extraordinary risk. According to his Wikipedia entry, Vesey’s wife and children were slaves, and he was unable to purchase their freedom. Oddly, Robertson glosses over this, instead focusing on the fact that Vesey was reported to have many wives in various areas, with children by many of those women. Robertson also doesn’t mention that, two years before the attempted uprising, South Carolina banned private manumissions (freeing of slaves).
Vesey isn’t an easy figure for whites to cheer, as his planned uprising contemplated—in fact, required—the killing of Charleston’s white population (including children) in order for the slaves to escape to the ships and freedom in Haiti or Africa. It seems a cold-blooded and brutal plan, and it’s hard to endorse, but slavery was a cold-blooded and brutal system that was endorsed and enforced by that same white population. What other options did Vesey and his followers have if they wanted to be free?
Obviously, Vesey didn’t succeed, but his audacious vision and plan, coupled with his intelligence, apparent charisma, and extraordinary courage in the face of horrible torture make him a compelling, and, in my mind, admirable figure.
Robertson paints a detailed picture of Charleston, SC (where Capt. Vesey eventually settled, Vesey still his slave), where, by the early 18th century, blacks (the vast majority of whom were enslaved) outnumbered whites. The tensions inherent in a society and economy that was predicated on the minority whites’ bondage of the majority Africans and their descendants are clearly depicted. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it must have been a brutal place to live if black.
Robertson’s thesis is that white Charleston did everything it could to erase Vesey and his rebellion. A lot of what Robertson writes is convincing—the absence of any contemporary depictions of Vesey’s appearance, the minimization of what Vesey attempted in contemporaneous newspapers, and the suppression of the trial records (which themselves suppressed Vesey’s voice and motives, written as they were by the white, slave-owning judges) all make it difficult to get a handle on the interior life of Denmark Vesey.
What we know is that he purchased his freedom with the money he won in a lottery, having purchased a ticket with funds he earned as a carpenter hired out by his owner (one glaring omission in the book is Robertson’s failure to explain why Vesey’s lottery winnings were not given to his owner, Capt. Vesey—was there some law that gave Vesey—then himself property—a property interest in the winnings? Did Capt. Vesey have a legal right to the funds but let Vesey keep them or enough to buy his freedom? Robertson is silent on these questions). We know also that he lived another 22 years as a free man, running a carpentry business, helping to found the AME Church in Charleston, and associating far more with slaves than other free blacks. We know that he was willing to risk his freedom and his life in an effort to free the slaves of greater Charleston, and that he displayed tremendous courage and resolve when arrested, charged, and, eventually, executed.
But we don’t know why he was willing to take such an extraordinary risk. According to his Wikipedia entry, Vesey’s wife and children were slaves, and he was unable to purchase their freedom. Oddly, Robertson glosses over this, instead focusing on the fact that Vesey was reported to have many wives in various areas, with children by many of those women. Robertson also doesn’t mention that, two years before the attempted uprising, South Carolina banned private manumissions (freeing of slaves).
Vesey isn’t an easy figure for whites to cheer, as his planned uprising contemplated—in fact, required—the killing of Charleston’s white population (including children) in order for the slaves to escape to the ships and freedom in Haiti or Africa. It seems a cold-blooded and brutal plan, and it’s hard to endorse, but slavery was a cold-blooded and brutal system that was endorsed and enforced by that same white population. What other options did Vesey and his followers have if they wanted to be free?
Obviously, Vesey didn’t succeed, but his audacious vision and plan, coupled with his intelligence, apparent charisma, and extraordinary courage in the face of horrible torture make him a compelling, and, in my mind, admirable figure.
September 24, 2019
One would think that in this day and age there would be a slew of books on the various slave uprisings that happened in the New World between 1492 and 1865, but there are very few. "The Black Jacobins" does a great job on the Haitian Revolution, but "The Confessions of Nat Turner" has really fallen out of favor. There are others but not many.
David Robertson does a great job of giving the most current historical assessment of the slave revolt planned by Denmark Vesey in 1822 Charleston South Carolina, but the inherent lack of multi POV original source material makes it hard to know what truly happened.
Denmark Vesey lived in the Charleston area in the early 19th century as a freed black and founding member of the AME Church. IN the summer of 1822 he intened to launch a massive slave rebellion that was years in the planning. Claiming as many as 9,000 recruits and pre-arranged arms stashes of guns, powder, pikes and swords, Vesey planned to kill most of the town's white population sieze sailing ships in the port and flee with his army to Haiti or Africa (accounts vary).
Unfortunately for Vesey, his plot, like so many other far flung plots leaked to the white authorities before it could be launched. Vesey and dozens of his organizers were arrested, tried and eventually hung. Because the South Carolina authorities were loathe to broady publicixe the trial and the existence of a large slave uprising little reliable documentation exists considering the size, scope and implications of the revolt.
Robertson is pained to acknowledge that revisionist historiansin the 1950s who thought the Vesey plot was largely contrived by white power brokers seeking to use the plot as a weapon against each other, with the details hyped in secret to undermine the the SC govt at that time. No one ever found the huge stash of weapons, relatively few slaves were identified as being part of the plot and there is no evidence that Vesey actually contacted the Haitian govt to arrange asylum. However, the importance and legacy the plot had among slaves and freedmen for decades and into current times.
David Robertson does a great job of giving the most current historical assessment of the slave revolt planned by Denmark Vesey in 1822 Charleston South Carolina, but the inherent lack of multi POV original source material makes it hard to know what truly happened.
Denmark Vesey lived in the Charleston area in the early 19th century as a freed black and founding member of the AME Church. IN the summer of 1822 he intened to launch a massive slave rebellion that was years in the planning. Claiming as many as 9,000 recruits and pre-arranged arms stashes of guns, powder, pikes and swords, Vesey planned to kill most of the town's white population sieze sailing ships in the port and flee with his army to Haiti or Africa (accounts vary).
Unfortunately for Vesey, his plot, like so many other far flung plots leaked to the white authorities before it could be launched. Vesey and dozens of his organizers were arrested, tried and eventually hung. Because the South Carolina authorities were loathe to broady publicixe the trial and the existence of a large slave uprising little reliable documentation exists considering the size, scope and implications of the revolt.
Robertson is pained to acknowledge that revisionist historiansin the 1950s who thought the Vesey plot was largely contrived by white power brokers seeking to use the plot as a weapon against each other, with the details hyped in secret to undermine the the SC govt at that time. No one ever found the huge stash of weapons, relatively few slaves were identified as being part of the plot and there is no evidence that Vesey actually contacted the Haitian govt to arrange asylum. However, the importance and legacy the plot had among slaves and freedmen for decades and into current times.
July 12, 2008
Excellent read for the history lover. This book sheds light on the courage of this African American hero.
December 24, 2018
It is amazing how much is left out of the history books. Denmark Vesey came close to leading one of the largest slave rebellion. Nobody likes to have their freedom taking away. He lead the way for the American Civil War. Freedom cannot be denied. Introspective thoughts from this book:
The date of the rebellion was scheduled for Sunday, July 14, 1822. P. 62
At the same time, a house servant, a free black, and a mulatto - Peter Prioleau, William Pencil and George Wilson were each engaged in his own personal drama of treachery and self-survival. P.82
Since the colonial era, police action against blacks in South Carolina had frequently been determined by the state of the economy. P. 95
His intimidating physical presence, his intellectual strength, his free status, his international background and religious experiences - all contributed to Vesey's sense of himself as the personal embodiment of black self-sufficiency and independence. P. 132
History, as George Orwell reminded us, is written by the winners. P. 145
The date of the rebellion was scheduled for Sunday, July 14, 1822. P. 62
At the same time, a house servant, a free black, and a mulatto - Peter Prioleau, William Pencil and George Wilson were each engaged in his own personal drama of treachery and self-survival. P.82
Since the colonial era, police action against blacks in South Carolina had frequently been determined by the state of the economy. P. 95
His intimidating physical presence, his intellectual strength, his free status, his international background and religious experiences - all contributed to Vesey's sense of himself as the personal embodiment of black self-sufficiency and independence. P. 132
History, as George Orwell reminded us, is written by the winners. P. 145
May 25, 2021
This is an incredible book considering how little is truly known about Vesey, including what he looked like. The author does an admirable job of painting a picture of life in Charleston around the time of Vesey’s plot, which makes the book feel like a mystery that we are all investigating together.
Additionally, I enjoyed the parallels that were drawn with the lives of others who fought for freedom throughout the years. It was done with a deep appreciation for historical context, and demonstrated what it means to think critically about the past.
What did I dislike? The postscript. After the descriptions of Charleston in the 1820’s, and the pictures that are included with descriptions, it seemed redundant. Honestly, just skip to the appendix if you want to know more about the other people put to death during this appalling moment in American history.
Additionally, I enjoyed the parallels that were drawn with the lives of others who fought for freedom throughout the years. It was done with a deep appreciation for historical context, and demonstrated what it means to think critically about the past.
What did I dislike? The postscript. After the descriptions of Charleston in the 1820’s, and the pictures that are included with descriptions, it seemed redundant. Honestly, just skip to the appendix if you want to know more about the other people put to death during this appalling moment in American history.
December 26, 2018
Thoughtful, complex
Author takes what little we know about Bessy and lays the unarticulated pieces of a historical puzzle out for us to draw useful inferences about the meaning and utility of Veseys model of resistence.
Authors let's his whiteness get in the way at the end when surmising the internal narrative of black contemporary inhabitants of Veseys landscape in charleston. Waxing nostalgic wasn't necessary or intellectually honest, just a good reminder of the need for more eyes on this story.
Author takes what little we know about Bessy and lays the unarticulated pieces of a historical puzzle out for us to draw useful inferences about the meaning and utility of Veseys model of resistence.
Authors let's his whiteness get in the way at the end when surmising the internal narrative of black contemporary inhabitants of Veseys landscape in charleston. Waxing nostalgic wasn't necessary or intellectually honest, just a good reminder of the need for more eyes on this story.
December 29, 2018
I learned an incredible amount from this thorough book. However, the author is often far too forgiving of the horrendous white characters in the history. A slaveowner who didn't (as far as we know) regularly beat his slaves is still a slaveowner, and should not be allowed the sympathy Robertson is far too willing to dispense towards them.
June 13, 2020
I had seen someone reference Denmark Vesey and was surprised that I had not learned about him and his slave rebellion. Vesey was a slave in Charleston who bought his own freedom (manumission - learned a new word) after winning a lottery (of all things) and then planned a major slave revolt. He was betrayed and eventually hung along with approximately 35 others.
December 10, 2022
Denmark Vesey
was a frustrating read for me. When I read a book I not interested in pages after pages after pages of backstory.
What I liked about the book
1) The layout of the table of contents and the chapter titles.
2) How author Robertson mirrors what historian Dane Callowway (imjustheretomakeyouthink.com) has been saying for years.
What I liked about the book
1) The layout of the table of contents and the chapter titles.
2) How author Robertson mirrors what historian Dane Callowway (imjustheretomakeyouthink.com) has been saying for years.
May 8, 2024
This was very informative. I only knew of Denmark Vesey prior to reading this book, but the author described the situation that led to the conspiracy and elucidated on how it was built, stopped before it could start, the burials of its existence, and how Denmark Vesey still became a heroic figure despite all that he went through. It's a quick read that really fits well on my shelf.
May 15, 2024
I knew little about Denmark Vesey, other than to hear that he was a great leader of people and a force for ending slavery. Sadly, there's not very much information available about the man's life, which is disappointing. I was a bit ignorant about his goal to kill all the white people, but it was easy to understand his desire, given the way his world worked.
June 1, 2025
don’t remember when i actually finished this, but it was an excellent book. one of those pieces of history that’s extremely important, but completely ignored in regular school curricula, for obvious reasons.
October 19, 2025
The only troubling part of this HERORS is that not a picture of him can be found.
He was a well off Black man whom REFUSED his comforts to liberate and free other Blacks. He sacrificed his life and should be remembered as a HERO.
He was a well off Black man whom REFUSED his comforts to liberate and free other Blacks. He sacrificed his life and should be remembered as a HERO.
December 4, 2018
A Riveting tale of the quest for freedom.
June 3, 2019
What a wonderful wonderful book! It covered so much history and interesting facts about Charleston, the city in which I live. I am so looking forward to the discussion about this book in book club!
January 26, 2019
This should be required reading. This book is excellent, except for the last chapter. The last chapter is sometimes cringy personal reflections by the author.
December 6, 2011
The fascinating, if incomplete, story of Denmark Vesey a free black man who organized a massive slave revolt that was to involve about 9000 slaves from in and around Charleston, SC. The 1822 plot was to involve burning the city, murdering the entire white population, and escaping via ship to Haiti or Africa. While at first glance this sounds incredibly brutal when you consider the position of the slaves it's somehow understandable.
I would have rated this book higher if it weren't for the fact that the entire story is what Mr. Robertson refers to as "Spartacus' List". That is, so much of the information and evidence is lost that it is difficult to tell the whole story accurately. Mr. Robertson does an admirable job with the materials at hand. The first chapter talks about the fact that there is no record of Vesey's appearance either described or rendered. A portrait that was commissioned of him shows him from the back since his face is a complete mystery.
Having recently visited Charleston I was struck by the city's beauty and also by the fact that up to 40% of the African American population today (Robertson claims 25% but my guide in Charleston insisted on 40%) can trace its ancestry to a slave ship that came into Charleston Harbor. What a sad and sobering juxtaposition.
I would have rated this book higher if it weren't for the fact that the entire story is what Mr. Robertson refers to as "Spartacus' List". That is, so much of the information and evidence is lost that it is difficult to tell the whole story accurately. Mr. Robertson does an admirable job with the materials at hand. The first chapter talks about the fact that there is no record of Vesey's appearance either described or rendered. A portrait that was commissioned of him shows him from the back since his face is a complete mystery.
Having recently visited Charleston I was struck by the city's beauty and also by the fact that up to 40% of the African American population today (Robertson claims 25% but my guide in Charleston insisted on 40%) can trace its ancestry to a slave ship that came into Charleston Harbor. What a sad and sobering juxtaposition.
June 18, 2013
"nothing could be done without fire." (p.59)
The Denmark Vesey story is a remarkable one; in today's context it would be a crime drama. Nine years before Nat Turner's bloody slave insurrection, Denmark Vesey, a free man, was the mastermind behind what would unfold to be the largest slave rebellion in South Carolina's history. The major difference between the insurrections of Vesey and Turner is the latter actually took place; Vesey's plan was never carried out. The lack of physical evidence makes the whole ordeal a little suspicious. Robertson and other historians point to the political aspirations of one individual, James Hamilton, Jr. Charleston's Intendant, as the reason behind Vesey's demise:
"Bennett and his brother-in-law were both of the opinion that Hamilton had exaggerated the seriousness of the rumoured slave revolt." (p.91)
"The `plot' was probably never more than loose talk by aggrieved and bitter men." - Richard C. Wade (p. 94)
The summer of 1822 was Charleston's darkest hour. The arrest, trial and execution of Denmark Vesey and some 30-plus co-conspirators was an overt display of superiority to slaves and black freemen alike, eradicating any thought of future rebellion; and to the frightened white people of Charleston that, "there were to be no more Denmark Veseys." (p.122)
The Denmark Vesey story is a remarkable one; in today's context it would be a crime drama. Nine years before Nat Turner's bloody slave insurrection, Denmark Vesey, a free man, was the mastermind behind what would unfold to be the largest slave rebellion in South Carolina's history. The major difference between the insurrections of Vesey and Turner is the latter actually took place; Vesey's plan was never carried out. The lack of physical evidence makes the whole ordeal a little suspicious. Robertson and other historians point to the political aspirations of one individual, James Hamilton, Jr. Charleston's Intendant, as the reason behind Vesey's demise:
"Bennett and his brother-in-law were both of the opinion that Hamilton had exaggerated the seriousness of the rumoured slave revolt." (p.91)
"The `plot' was probably never more than loose talk by aggrieved and bitter men." - Richard C. Wade (p. 94)
The summer of 1822 was Charleston's darkest hour. The arrest, trial and execution of Denmark Vesey and some 30-plus co-conspirators was an overt display of superiority to slaves and black freemen alike, eradicating any thought of future rebellion; and to the frightened white people of Charleston that, "there were to be no more Denmark Veseys." (p.122)
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