Coard: Celebrate anniversary of America's 'first' slave revolt

Michael Coard
Apr 5, 2019

Exactly 307 years ago on the night of April 6, 1712, arguably the first orchestrated and documented revolt against slavery in a British colony that would later become part of the United States of America took place.

It happened in Manhattan, which had a radius of 20 by 30 blocks consisting of a total white, free Black, and enslaved Black population of approximately 6,000 with the enslaved constituting nearly 20 percent. And many of them were skilled laborers such as masons, carpenters, and plumbers. By the way, the colony of New York at that time had one of the largest enslaved populations in the North or South.

Because New York was urban and had no plantations like southern colonies, Blacks- both enslaved and free- labored in close proximity to each other and often communicated discreetly amongst themselves about their grievances.

The historic event on April 6 is called the New York Slave Revolt of 1712. It initially involved 23 enslaved Blacks and was hatched by African-born men and women who were inspired by the tenets of their own indigenous spirituality to resist the white supremacist-type of Christianity that was forced upon them.

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