You have heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but have you heard of New York City Slave Uprising of 1741, and Tea Men?
Neither had I.
(It is also called the “New York Conspiracy” and the “Negro Plot.”)
Funny, as in strange, not humorous.
Particularly true because despite the mental picture of Witches being burned at the stake, actually none were. 19 “Witches” were hanged, and one died from being pressed to death with stones.
Many more were killed in the NYC Slave Uprising of 1741 – and, in fact, 13 Black men WERE burned at the stake! The Court additionally hanged 18 Blacks and four Whites, and imprisoned 150 Blacks and 25 Whites.
And neither you nor I ever heard of it, while the Salem Witch Trials are easily remembered. I wonder if it could be that the concept of only Blacks being abused in the South is the Politically Correct narrative. This event has been called the “ greatest lynching in America” – and you thought lynching only happened in the South?
And “Tea Men?” Well, there was no running water in NYC of 1741, so slaves were sent to water pumps to gather water for the upper-class households. That meant that slaves gathered at the pump, and it was presumed that slaves gathering at the pump facilitated the uprising.
Subsequently, a law was passed forbidding slaves from gathering at water pumps, and white Tea Men were paid to gather water for household tea.
It is amazing what one can learn by reading history, or in this case listening to the Audible book from the Great Courses, “Before 1776: Life in the Colonies”
Listening to lectures by real-life professors is interesting, rather than just accepting the version in your head.
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Filed under: Crime, Culture, Economics, Education, Justice, Media, Politics | Tagged: New York City, New York Conspiracy, Slave Uprising, the Salem Witch Trials |
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