The Antigua Slave Conspiracy of 1736: A Case Study of the Origins

The Antigua Slave Conspiracy of 1736: A Case Study of the Origins of Collective Resistance
Author(s): David Barry Gaspar
Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr., 1978), pp. 308-323
Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1921837
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The Antigua Slave Conspiracyof I736: A Case
Study of the Origins of Collective Resistance
David Barry Gaspar
October I736, whites in the West Indian sugar island of Antigua were
alarmedat the discoveryof a slave plot to destroythem. The judges who
eventually tried the slaves described the plot as an island-wide affair,
probably in existence since November I735, if not earlier.' It was masterminded by a slave named Court, alias Tackey, who belonged to Thomas
Kerby, Speaker of the assembly and justice of the peace. Court's chief
accomplicewas Thomas Hanson's Creole slave Tomboy.
The slaves planned to stage a general uprising on the night of Monday,
October ii, when the annual ball commemoratingthe coronationof George
II was to be held in the capital town of St. John's, in a house owned by
ChristopherDunbar, probablya prominentisland figure. Tomboy, a carpenter, was to have tried to get the job of building seats for the ballroom, so as to
enable him to plant gunpowderin the cellar for blowing up the governorand
gentry during the ball. The blast was to be the signal for several groups of
three to four hundred slaves to enter the town and kill all the whites, while
other well-armed slaves prevented relief from reaching the beleaguered
whites and seized the forts and the shipping in the harbor.The slaves still in
the countrysidewere to abandonthe plantationsand marchto town, destroying as they came.
The ball, however, was postponedto October 30, causing the ringleaders
to debate "whether or not they Should Execute their Plot, by immediately
IN
Mr. Gaspar is a member of the Department of History at the University of
Virginia. This article is part of a book-length study of slave resistance in Antigua.
Researchwas supportedby the Research Institute for the Study of Man. The author
wishes to thank Jack P. Greene, Willie Lee Rose, and Peter H. Wood for their
helpful comments on previous drafts.
' A major source of information is theJudges' General Report (hereaftercited as
General Report), copies of which can be found in Gov. William Mathew to Board
of Trade, Jan. I7, I737, C.O. I52/22, W94, Public Record Office; Council Minutes,
Jan. 24, I737, C.O. 9/IO, P.R.O.; and Assembly Minutes, Jan. 3, I737, C.O. 9/I2. A
printed and slightly edited version entitled A Genuine Narrative of the Intended
Conspiracy of the Negroes at Antigua ...
(Dublin, I737), has recently been
reprinted (New York, I972). For a fictionalized account- "A Legend of the
Ravine"-see Mrs. Flannigan, Antigua and the Antiguans, I (London, I844), 9II07.
ANTIGUA
309
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
falling on with fire and Sword, or wait for the ball." Court eventually
persuadedthem to wait, and while they waited "the only Preservativeto all
our Lives,"2said one Antiguan the plot was discovered.Robert Arbuthnot,
a justice of the peace for St. John's town, suspectedthat some mischief was
probably brewing among the slaves when he observed "their Insolence
increasing to a very Dangerous Pitch."' He started private inquiries on
October ii, and four days later he reported his findings to the legislature,
which immediately took steps to curb the unrulinessof the slaves and bring
the plotters to justice.
The trials were conducted by a four-man ad hoc court, which made
extensive use of slave testimony.4 Between October 20 and 27, Court,
Tomboy, and ten others were condemned and executed.The court'sreportof
December 30, I736, shows that forty-sevenslaves were executed by December I4, while fifty others were to be banished, including seven witnesses. By
mid-January I737, a second court, suceeding the first when the original
judges asked to be relieved, sentenced another twenty-five slaves to death by
fire, promptingGovernor William Mathew to declare, "I hope they will in
good time put an end to these Executions.I think they are very numerous."'
In all, eighty-eight slaves were executed: five were broken on the wheel,
six gibbeted, and seventy-sevenburned.6By a special act, forty-seven other
slaves were banished,7 but the legislature postponed the transportationof
eight major witnesses whose testimony was needed for the trial of some free
colored suspects.8Later, these eight were sent off to North America. The
other transporteeswere first intended for Lisbon but were later listed as
2 "Extract of a Letter from Antigua, Oct.
and Historical Chronicle, VII 0737), 59.
3
24
[1I736],"
Robert Arbuthnot's reportto the legislature, Oct. I5,
Gentleman's Magazine.
I736,
Council Mins., Jan.
hereafter cited as Arbuthnot's Report.
8, I737, C.O. 9/I0,
Council Mins., Nov. 8, I736,
Assembly Mins., Oct. I5, I9, I736, C.O. 9/I2;
C.O. 9/i0;
"An Act for better discovery of ConspiracysTreasons and Rebellions of
Slaves," Oct.
23,
I736, C.O.
8/6, P.R.O. The judges were Robert Arbuthnot, John
Vernon, Ashton Warner, and Nathaniel Gilbert.
'Council
Mins., Dec.
20,
I736,
C.O.
9/i0.
The new judges were Vallentine
Morris, Josiah Martin, Benjamin King, Henry Douglas, and Thomas Watkins.
Mathew to Board of Trade, Jan. I7, I737, C.O. I52/22, W88.
X7. Full list of
6Mathew to Board of Trade, May 26, I737, C.O. I52/23,
executions.
7 "An Act for attainting several Slaves who abscond and are fled from Justice
and for the Banishment of other[s] concernedin the conspiracy,"Apr. II, I737, C.O.
8/6.
By law, slave testimony was in8Council Mins., Mar. 9, I737, C.O. 9/II.
admissible against free persons, but the legislature passed two special acts admitting
such testimony against the free colored suspects. These acts were ultimately disallowed by the crown.
310
WILLIAM AND
MARY QUARTERLY
bound for Hispaniola, the Spanish Main, or some other Spanish territory.9
This article exploresthe origins of the slave plot, using as its main sources
the trial judges' general report, and the extensive minutes of the Antigua
legislature, which contain, among other information, a lengthy record of
some of the slave trials.'0 First, however, a few words about the plot's
authenticitymay be appropriate.
Was there really a plot? If so, did whites exaggerate its scope? Slave
conspiracies,unlike open revolts where lives are lost and propertydamaged,
are difficult to authenticate. Either from fear or from overreaction to the
slaves' unruliness and suspiciousbehavior, most Antiguan whites may have
believed there was a plot when there was none, or, if one existed, they may
have exaggerated its extent and danger. The slaves who testified before the
court may have had compelling motives to tell the court what it evidently
expected to hear.
The judges of the first court seem to have been convincedthere was a plot
even before the trials began. As they understoodit, their function was simply
to discover the guilty slaves and punish them. Some membersof the legislature even anticipatedabout one hundred and fifty executions, as an example
to the rest of the slaves." There was, it seems, a strongerinclination toward
vengeance than toward justice, which raisesdoubts about the quality of slave
testimony obtained at the trials, especiallywhen much of it came from slaves
alreadyconvicted.'2 Such testimonywas not only used to condemnmany, but,
most important, it constituted the main source for the judges' report, in
which they discussed aspects of a plot they took to have existed.
'Council
Mins., Mar. 7, and Apr.
I2,
I737,
C.O.
9/II.
At least one of those
banished turned up in the nearbyDanish island of St. Croix, where in I759 he helped
lead another plot. See Waldemar Westergaard, "Account of the Negro Rebellion on
St. Croix, Danish West Indies, I759,"Journa/ of Negro History, XI (I926), 5o-6i.
"The minutes are to be found in C.O. 9/9-I2. The trial accounts in C.O. 9/i0
and C.O. 9/II cover only the slaves who were banished. I have found no recordof
the trials of those executed, including Court and Tomboy.
" Council Mins., Jan. 8, 3I, I737, C.O. 9/i0. See Vallentine Morris's addressof
Jan. 24 before the council, defending the continuationof punishments to which the
assembly had earlier objected.
12 Admitting "Slaves to be Witnesses after Conviction of what We termed a
TreasonableConspiracy"was one of the steps "Not of a Common kind" taken by the
judges during the trials. They explained that "there is little weight in it. For a slave is
not a Person known by the Law of England; and in the Eye of our Laws is the same
Person after Conviction as before, Slaves being uncapableof giving Evidence Except
against each other (which is always done without Oath) of Sueing or being Sued
having no inheritable blood, Masters of no Property, and being the Estate and
propertyof others; So that they can loose no Credit, nor have their blood Corrupted,
nor forfeit any property nor Suffer any Disability by any Attainder" (General
Report).
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
3II
Because the vast majorityof suspectswere tried in private, we have only
the court's recordof the trials.13 Could the slave witnesseshave told the truth
in court? Probably not, yet it is also likely that many suspectsmay not have
invented stories because for them, speaking out boldly, when they knew
death was almost certain, may have been a final act of defiance and a
declaration of manhood. It may also be asked whether many of the slaves'
stories and confessions had been supplied by an already prejudiced court?
This is possible, and perhaps it may help to explain the remarkable consistency of the large volume of testimony. Yet, on the other hand, this
consistencymay help to prove that there was a genuine plot if it can be shown
that the prisonerswere not in contact with one another while in jail or that
they had not conspiredto give similar stories if caught. On the second point
there is no evidence, but it is known that the prisonerswere in contact.14 In
short, then, the slaves' reported testimony can be justifiably regarded as
suspect, if not entirely unreliable.
However, the evidence shows that one courageous slave, Ned, while in
jail, tried to instill solidarityamong his comrades,telling them "to keep their
minds to themselvesand to be true to their Trust."15 For what it is worth, the
evidence places Ned among the ringleaders, and his behavior behind bars
suggests that there really may have been a plot, however much public
excitementmay have blown it out of proportion.Moreover, anotherprisoner,
Cudjoe, exhorted four of his comrades not to testify against Benjamin and
Billy Johnson, two accused free blacks.16 Finally, the judges' report states
that Court and Tomboy confessed to being leaders of the plot shortly before
13 This was another unusual measure adopted by the judges: "Trying the
Criminalsprivately and excluding all white Persons more particularlythe Masters of
the Slaves except the Constablesguarding the Prisoners and except twice or thrice
where some Gentleman of Figure not Master of any Slave under Tryal was
accidentallypresent" (ibid.). They had startedoff with open trials, "but the business
being of a Nature requiring the utmost dispatch, We found our Proceedings much
retarded by the Spectatorsasking many Questions of the Prisoners and Witnesses,
and some of them not proper;We soon discoveredtoo by some things that happened,
how much Masters were prone to countenance and Excuse their Slaves, and that
Slaves were imboldened by their Masters presence, and Witnesses intimidated;
besides we found Secrecy necessary,Which even Oaths of Secrecy might have not
effectually procured, considering human frailty and forgetfullness and the common
unguardednessof Speech most persons are liable to" (ibid.).
1 The jail was so crowded that, on at least two occasions, prisonerswere secured
on ships in the harbor. Council Mins., Nov. i8, and Dec. 9, I736, C.O. 9/IO.
'5 As a result, the judges, who had been "inclin'd to have Respited his Execution
a little longer," resolved that "he be immediately hung up alive in Chains there to
Continue till he Dies, then his head to Cut off and set up in his Masters Plantation,
upon a Pole, and his head [body?] to be Burnt, in Otto's Pasture" (Council Mins.,
Nov. I5, I736, ibid.).
16 Council Mins., Jan. I7, I737, ibid.
WILLIAM AND
3I2
MARY QUARTERLY
they were executed. Such evidence suggests that, though the slaves' confessions and other testimony ought not to be dismissed as attemptsto divert
punishmentfrom themselves, or as forced testimony, or as mere delusions of
grandeur, particularlyfor those finally executed, they must neverthelessbe
used with caution.
There is not much in the trial record by which to trace the causes of the
plot, but the judges' reportidentifies four main causes: hopes of freedom, the
numericalsuperiorityof the slaves, inadequateenforcementof the slave laws,
and the elevation of too many slaves to positions of higher status with too
much independenceand too intimate contact with whites. Emphasizingthe
high ratio of slaves to whites, the judges recommended as remedies that
absentee ownership be curbed, that justices of the peace execute their office
more diligently, that militia duty be taken more seriously, and that more
whites be attracted to the island, particularlyby discouraging the employment of slaves in skilled occupations.'7Bearing in mind the observationof
Sidney W. Mintz that "summariesof possible reasons why slaves revolted
. . . are rather more neat than they are verifiable" and "tend to obscurethe
daily realities of plantation life,"18 we may use the judges' summary as a
convenient startingpoint. The procedureof this article will be to determine
the plausibilityof the judges' list of causes and to suggest others that, taken
together, may have had a decisive influence on the slave conspirators.
The slaves' desire for freedom, the general cause cited first by the judges,
must have been so obvious as to requireno elaboration.'9In seeking liberty,
the slaves expressed a desire universal among slaves in other slave societies.
That desire helped create a constant potential for revolt. But this was a price
17 This summary (General Report) suggests a motivation for collective resistance
originating and developing within the slave society, unlike Caribbean revolts of the
late i8th and early i9th centuries,which were also influencedby such external factors
as "the French Revolution, the British Abolitionist Movement, the end of the slave
trade, and the advent to British colonies of Protestant sectarian missionaries."
Monica Schuler, "Ethnic Slave Rebellions in the Caribbean and the Guianas,"
Journal of Social History, III (1970), 385. One aspect of the internal orientation of
early i8th-century Caribbean rebellions was their particular ethnic composition,
whereby many slaves "who were still African in culture and in loyalties attemptedto
face themselves" (ibid.). For a discussionof the Akan of the Gold Coast see Schuler's
"Akan Slave Rebellions in the British Caribbean," Savacou, I (June I970), 8-29.
18 "Review Article: Slavery and the Slaves," Caribbean Studies, VIII (Jan.
i969),
70.
the report they merely stated that, for the slaves, "Freedom and
the Possession of their Master's Estates were to be the Rewards of their Perfidy and
Treachery," and a "New Government . . . Established, when the white Inhabitants
were Intirely extirpated" (General Report).
19 Elsewhere in
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
3I3
which Antiguan slaveownerswere willing to pay, for they regardedslaveryas
a necessity, however disagreeable.20
By the beginning of the eighteenth centuryblacks already outnumbered
whites on Antigua, owing to an increasingdemand for slaves. By the second
decade of the century, the white populationhad begun to decline in absolute
terms, accentuatingthe population imbalance. Disease, drought, inability to
pay taxes, engrossmentof the land by the wealthy, indebtedness,wars and
rumors of war, and the hiring out and training of black tradesmen-all in
one way or another kept the white populationdown.21 The numberof whites
was estimated at about three thousand in I736, while there were roughly
twenty-four thousand blacks, more than 88 percent of the whole.22 This
percentage must have been even greater in the rural areas where the
plantations were located. Although such an imbalance was regarded as a
threat to the safety of the whites, and acts were passed to increase their
number, these acts were never effective enough.23
How far absentee-ownershipcontributed to the smallness of the white
populationis difficult to say, but the judges thought it contributedto the plot.
We do not know how many proprietorswere absent from Antigua in I736,
yet there is enough evidence to show that the island producedsome absentees
during the eighteenth century.24Though acts against absenteeismwere not
uncommon, none were passed in the I730s.25 Given the lack of persuasive
evidence that would link absenteeism with the plot, it might be suggested
that the judges' implicit reference to it as a general cause was at best weak
and uncertain.Whatever the effect of absenteeismon the size of the white
20Slavery was practiced in Antigua, wrote the judges, "Not of Choice, but of
Necessity," and gave them "many Reflections, highly disagreeable and uneasy."
Thus, "unless (as it is not to be imagined) our Mother Countrey Should quit that
valuable part of its Trade arising from the Sugar Colonies, which its Laws have given
So much Encouragementto, Englishmen must continue to be Masters of Slaves, and
will be under a Necessity of using them as such" (ibid.).
21John Yeamans to Board of Trade, May 27, I734, C.O. I52/20, V29.
22W. N6el Sainsbury et al., eds., Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series,
), XLIII, nos. 99, 50, hereafter
America and the West Indies (London, i862cited as Calendarof State Papers.
23
Hart to Board of Trade, Mar.
of Trade, May 27, I734, C0.
I52/20,
I,
I725, C.O. I52/I5, RI3I; Yeamans to Board
V29;
Mathew to Board of Trade, Oct. I7,
I734, C.O. I52/24, Y53. A number of white servant acts were passed, but see, for
example, "An Act for encouraging the Importation of White Servants to this
Island,"July II, I7i6, in The Laws of the Island ofAntigua consisting of the Acts of
the Leeward Islands, i690-I798 and Acts of Antigua, i668-i845, I (London, i8o5),
act no. I53.
24See, for example, R. B. Sheridan, "The Rise of a Colonial Gentry: A Case
Study of Antigua, I730-I775," Economic History Review, 2d Ser., XIII (i961), 346.
25 Legislation against absenteeism was passed in I706, I707, 171I, I714, I740,
I74i, and I742.
314
WILLIAM AND
MARY QUARTERLY
population, the longstanding preponderanceof blacks must have bolstered
their hopes for a successful revolt in the I730s by generating a feeling of
potential strength, needing only proper organization.Numerical superiority,
though not a sufficientcause for revolt, can be considered a preconditionof
it.26
In planning a mass revolt the slave leadershad to considerthe strengthof
the white minority. Overall the Antiguan whites seemed at a disadvantage
militarily. The fortificationswere in disrepairand many white men ignored
militia duty. Moreover, the size of the force for local defense was always
inadequate:there were in I734, for example, only I,373 men, I,223 of whom
belonged to the militia, while the remaining I50 were soldiers stationed in
the island. This force was, of course, outnumberedby the slave populationof
24,408,
but the real basis of comparison should be with active adult male
slaves. The census returns, which did not distinguish between numbers of
male and female slaves, are of no help. However, in such a large slave
population suitable males most probably still outnumbered the militia and
soldiers. Furthermore,a number of slave women, it seems, were willing to
fight in the revolt.27
Taking militaryoppositioninto account, the slave leaderssaw the tactical
importance of seizing the forts and shipping as a primary objective. They
kept the forts especiallyunder close observationand tried to steal armsstored
there. Not long before the plot was discovered, "two or three Negroes were
caught in the Night Comeing into the Fort [Monk's Hill], armed with
Cutlaces, and this where is the Grand Magazine of the Island, now almost
full of powder, and the only arsenalof Small Armes."28How well armed the
slaves were by October I736 cannot be ascertained,yet it seems reasonableto
suppose that the leaders, after assessing the probable strength of local
resistance, decided that they had a good enough chance for success and
therefore went ahead recruiting followers and consolidating plans.
Probably much more importantthan the slaves' numerical strength was
the ground swell of slave resistancethat preceded and accompaniedthe plot.
26 On this point see the excellent study by Marion D. deB. Kilson, "Towards
Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States," Phylon, XXV (1964),
I83.
27 Calendar of State Papers, XLI, nos. 314ii, 2I7. Councillor Vallentine Morris
claimed that even the slave women "by their Insolent behaviour and Expressionshad
the utter Extirpation of the White as much at heart, as the Men, and would
undoubtedly have done as much Mischief by Butchering all the Women and
children." Yet, not a single female slave was tried. Council Mins.,Jan. 3I, I737, C.O.
In the trial record there are some references to women being present at the
9/IO.
conspirators'feasts and meetings.
8 The fort apparentlylacked guards and had no gates. Assembly Mins., Oct. I5,
I736, C.O.
9/I2.
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
3I5
One writerhas claimed that in I736 the slaves were simply building upon the
experienceof an earlier abortiveplot in I728-I729.29 But the judges made no
such connection. While the link between the two plots is not clear, it is
obvious that slave resistance,generally, could constitute a foundation for the
maturationof a plot as well coordinatedas that of I736, at the same time that
other socioeconomic factors seemed to favor the slaves.30It is possible, too,
that the Antiguan slaves may have been influenced by news of a slave revolt
in the nearby Danish island of St. John, where, in I733, forty whites were
killed. If the Antiguan slave leaders realisticallyconsideredtheir chances,
and if, in so doing, they drew a lesson from past plots and revolts in their own
and other small islands, the lesson would have been that, to succeed, they
would have to seize the whole of Antigua.32
Lax enforcement of the slave laws, enhancing opportunities for slave
resistance, is perhaps the single most important general factor behind the
plot. During the period I730-I735, nearly fifty runaways were executed or
hunted down and killed, particularly in the Shekerley hills in the southwestern section of the island.33Executions for other crimes were less numerous, but they were carried out during a period of widespread slave insubordination encouraged by negligent supervision, notably in St. John's
town.
The laxity of the police system enabled slaves to hold frequentmeetings.
Edward Gregory's slave, Emanuel, told Robert Arbuthnot that gangs of
blacks frequentlywent past his house at night, rode horses, played dice in the
church pasture, and several times blew conch shells after dark before
meetings were held. They "Consulted together in the Pastures and Places
about the Town at and after Midnight."34One could hardly quarrel with
Emanuel'sconclusionthat the slaves had been given too much freedom. Such
liberty meant disregard for the authority of the constables, who frequently
met resistance when they tried to break up slave gatherings. Constable
Morgan of St. John's town testified that on October 8, as he tried to disperse
a crowd, a slave belonging to Edward Otto Bayer shouted, "Damn you boy
its your turn now, but it will be mine by and by and soon too.-"3
Part of the blame for the slaves' increasing unrulinessmust surely fall
Flannigan, Antigua and the Antiguans, I, 9i.
Running away, which was the most frequent form of resistance, sometimes
reached alarming proportions,forcing the authorities to take drastic measures.
' Waldemar Westergaard, The Danish West Indies under Company Rule,
...
i671-1754
(New York, I9I7), i66-I76.
32 See Richard S. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves. The Rise of the Planter Class in the
29
30
English West Indies, i624-1713
(Chapel Hill, N.C.,
"Legislature Mins., C.O. 9/7 and 9/9.
34 Arbuthnot's Report.
35 Ibid.
I972),
256-262.
3i6
WILLIAM
AND
MARY
QUARTERLY
upon the justices of the peace, who were responsiblefor punishing offenders
in their localities but who shirked their duties. It could hardly be expected
that a few constables could effectively police the slaves if the masters
themselveswere also negligent.36 Ultimately, the general nonenforcementof
the slave laws gave rise to a permissivenessthat was conducive to slave
mobilization for revolt. The most striking proof of this is Court'sstaging of
an "ikem dance," at Mrs. Dunbar Parke'splantationnear the town, in order
to ascertainhow many followers he could count on to go through with the
plot. This "Military dance and Shew" was held openly, at two o'clock in the
afternoon, on Sunday, October 3, I736, and, so far as is known, no attempt
was made to stop it.37 "Near Two Thousand" blacks were assembled.38
The plot's timing can be explained when to the general contributing
factors are added others more specific and short-range. Of these, the most
easily identifiable are unfavorable economic conditions in the I730s and
charismaticslave leadership.
The English sugar market experienced a recession in the I730s that
adverselyaffectedthe sugar islands.Sugar pricesdeclined relative to pricesof
English exports, turning the terms of trade in favor of the mother country."
Antigua's sugar trade suffered, and in I735 the assembly sought relief from
the Board of Trade.40Reports of the period noted the difficulties of the
inhabitants.Governor Mathew commented in I734 that the economic pinch
"brought among us an oeconomy that calls for fewer suppliesfrom home for
our pleasuresthan heretofore, and this year indeed we have almost wanted
necessarysfor our familys or estates."'"
There is reason to believe the living conditions of the slaves worsened
during this period, intensifyingtheir discontent.The historian FrankWesley
Pitman has noted a mounting threat of slave rebellion in Jamaica where,
36 The governor had cause to accuse the magistrates of wholesale neglect in I724,
and the assembly then proposed a law to impose a penalty "upon such who refuse
acting after being Sworn and thatt those who refuse to accept the Commission be
immediately struck outt" (Minutes of the Council in Assembly, Jan. 23, I724, and
Assembly's reply to governor's address of Jan. 23, I724, Assembly Mins., Feb. I724,
C O. 9/5).
For an interesting description of the event see the General Report, where the
judges say it was held on Thursday, Oct. 3. But the third was a Sunday, and that
seems a more likely day because the slaves would not be required to be at work.
Furthermore, one slave witness cited Sunday. See Trial of Mr. Morgan's Newport,
Nov. 9, I736, Council Mins., Jan. I2, I737, C.O. 9/IO.
38 Arbuthnot's Report.
3 Richard B. Sheridan, Sugar and Slavery. An Economic History of the British
West Indies, i623-1775 (Baltimore, I973), 426-433.
40 Calendar of State Papers, XLII, no. ii.
41Ibid., XLI, no. 3I4ii.
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
3I7
possibly, "the conditionsof both the sugar and provisionmarkets,at this time
inclined overseersto make greater demands upon the slaves for labor and cut
down their supplies of food and clothing."42The effect on the Antiguan
slaves must have been even greater, because, unlike the Jamaican slaves who
grew much of their own food, the Antiguans were fed largely on imported
supplies, the price of which had increased.43It would not be surprising,
therefore, if the slaves were fed less, as the lieutenant governor and council
implied in I73I when they stated that numerousrunawaysfled because they
were treatedcruelly and underfed.44Overworkedand ill-treated,many slaves
must have been as exasperatedas the conspirator,Jack, who wanted to know
what right the whites had to punish the slaves when they were so unreasonably forced to live on "a Bit and Six herrings a Week."45
Other misfortunes added to the slaveowners'problems and the slaves'
frustrations.Mathew said in I734 that, since I729, an aphis disease called
"the blast" had been destroyingthe canes "in the most extraordinarymanner
... gaining ground even upon the provisions, both roots and vegetables
above ground." With the blast came drought, an epidemicof "black leprosy
and joint evil," and earthquakes in I735.46 Their combined effect was to
inflame the slaves to such an extent that they responded to the desire for
freedom, if not as a completely practicalsolution to their predicament,then
at least as a means of psychological relief. Upon such intensified feelings of
frustrationand dissatisfactionthe slave leaders shrewdly played, persuading
those who would follow them that a well-plannedrevolt at this critical time
could succeed.
The slave plot was elaborately planned by committed and able leaders,
whose responsibilitiesincluded interpretingto their followers the signs of the
whites' weakness or unpreparedness,convincing them of their own strength,
and generally securingtheir active cooperation.That the plot came so close to
fruition, after a long gestation, attests to how successfullythe leaders, and
indeed the followers, played their roles in maintainingsolidarity.The leaders
included many drivers who helped supervise field work, but most were
privileged Creole slaves, not connected with field work. Table I lists the ten
main ringleadersexecuted: seven were non-field slaves and at least eight were
42 The Development of the British West Indies, 1700-1763 (New York,
[orig. publ. New Haven, Conn., I9I7]), II5.
4
4
4
Calendar of State Papers, XXXVIII, no. 494,
Council Mins., Dec. I7, I73I, CO. 9/7.
Arbuthnot's Report.
I967
348-350.
46 Calendar of State Papers, XLI, nos. 3I4ii,
207; Vere Langford Oliver, The
History of the Island of Antigua . . . from the first settlement in I635 . . . , I
(London, I894), xcviii; Mins. of Council in Assembly, July 25, I736, C.O. 9/9;
Council Mins., Oct. i8, I732, C.O. 9/7.
3I8
WILLIAM AND
MARY QUARTERLY
Creoles. The judges expressed outrage that these slaves "had hearts and
Minds capable of conceiving, heads fit for Contriving, and hands and
Courage for executing the deepest and most bloody Crimes, even that
unparalleld Hellish Plot formed by them," because, as they explained it,
"none of them [could] justly complain of the hardshipof Slavery; their lives
being as easy as those of our White Tradesmen and Overseers, and their
manner of living much more Plentiful, than that of our Common Whites,
who were looked upon by some of them, for their Poverty and Distress with
Contempt."47While these remarksimply a justificationof slavery, they also
reflect puzzlement over the unexpected behavior of the slave elite. Not
surprisingly,Court's master also believed his slave "incapable of any bad
Design, for that he was an Elderly Distemper'd Fellow and had Always
behaved like a Faithfull Slave and lived very well, besides which he was
under no Temptation, for that he had Offer'd him his Freedom."48
The complete list of slaves executed for deep involvement in the plot
furnisheseven more impressiveevidenceof nonfield employment.There were
thirteen carpenters,eight coopers, one coppersmith, two masons, one millwright, one wheelwright, three waiting men, one sugar boiler, one butcher,
three coachmen, one head field Negro, three fishermen, one drummer, one
wheelwright/carpenter/mason, three fiddlers, and twenty-six drivers (one
obeahman was also listed). The occupations of eighteen others are unknown.49Among the forty-nineslaves who were banished were only six field
workers, but nine driversor carters,one sugar boiler, one carpenter/caulker,
one mason, one carpenter/fiddler,two coopers, one carpenter/boiler/"Succo
Negro," one mill boatswain, and one "Plummer"; and another obeahman
was banished as well.50 The occupations of the rest are unknown. Both
among the main ringleadersand in the secondaryranks, therefore, these lists
show that non-field slaves predominated.The vast majorityof the recruited
field slaves were membersof the rank and file who were not necessarilyprivy
to all the details of the plot.
In his study of slave resistance in eighteenth-centuryVirginia, Gerald
W. Mullin argued that the slaves' adjustmentto slaverywas dependenton at
least three factors. For "outlandish"or recentlyimportedAfricans, aspectsof
their cultural heritage were decisive, while for seasoned slaves who were
assimilatedor acculturatedto some degree, work and acculturationwere the
more critical variables.5'African heritage, work, and acculturationwere also
importantin the adjustment of the Antiguan slaves.
4
General Report.
48 Arbuthnot's Report.
" Mathew to Board of Trade, May 26,
I737, C.O.
5
York,
I52/23,
X7.
Mins., Jan. I2, I737, C.O. 9/IO; ibid., Feb. 24, I737, C.O. 9/II.
Flight and Rebellion. Slave Resistance in Eighteenth-Century Virginia (New
5Council
I972),
37-38, i6i-i62.
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
3I9
The interdependenceof work and acculturationcan be used to explain
the character of the Antiguan plotters. Clearly a collective effort to seize
control of the island, the plot could only have been developed by slaves who
had resided there for years, who understood the weaknesses of the whites,
and who could be reasonablyconfidentof their ability to mobilize a sufficient
numberof highly motivated followers. Recently arrivedAfricans were therefore at a disadvantage, but the Creoles and some Coromantees were well
qualified for membershipand leadership.One slave testified that "Court and
Tomboy [who lived in town] often told me that all the Town Negros were let
into the Secret both Men and boys except New Negroes All the Creoles and
Coromantees."52
The evidence makes it easier to explain the roles of the Creoles in
relation to work and acculturation. Creoles were assimilated blacks, proficient in English or the local patois, intelligent in bearing, sometimesliterate,
and usually skilled. Whites regarded them as less alien than Africans and
thought they understood them better; indeed, the judges stated that they
were the most "sensible and able" of the slaves. Because of their special
occupations and their status as members of the slave elite, Creole artisans,
boilers, tradesmen, stewards, drivers, and so on received preferential treatment. They enjoyed their masters' trust and had much latitude to exercise
initiative and engage in multiple role-playing, which fortified their selfconsciousness.53Assigned leadership functions among the slaves, they mediated "between the oppressorand the oppressed.... transmittedthe directives
of the white master, supervisedtheir implementation,disciplined, absorbed
slave discontent, and curbed unrest."54But if they could do these things, they
could also foment or capitalizeon slave discontent.Paradoxically,indeed, the
acculturativeprocess did not hamper their ability to engage in subversive
activity,55although their patterns of resistance might differ from those of
recently arrived Africans. In the I730S their expectationsmay have been so
frustratedby the effects of economic recession as to prompt them to revolt.
Moreover, their will to do so could have been nurturedby the tensions that
they experiencedin attemptingto maintain self-respectwhile acting out the
whites' model of the submissive slave. Behind the mask of Sambo or
Quashee lurked a discerning intelligence nourished on an existence that was
ambiguous.
Trial of Ned Chester,Nov. 26, I736, Council Mins., Jan. I2, I737, C.O. 9/IO.
5Stanley M. Elkins, Slavery. A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life (Chicago, I959), I37-I38; Kilson, "TowardsFreedom," Phylon, XXV
I78; Eugene D. Genovese, "On Stanley Elkins'sSlavery. A Problem
(I964), I74-I75,
in American Institutionaland Intellectual Life," in Allen Weinstein and FrankOtto
Gatell, eds., American Negro Slavery. A Modern Reader (New York, I968), 339.
5 George F. Tyson, Jr., ed., Toussaint L'Ouverture (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
52
I973),
I3.
5Mullin, Flight and Rebellion, i6i.
WILLIAM AND
320
MARY QUARTERLY
The psychological and sociopolitical base for a large-scale plot was
perhapsstrongest among the many artisanswho regularlypaid their masters
a part of their earnings, obtained either by being hired out or by working on
their own. Recognizing their masters'reliance on their productivepower, the
artisans experienced feelings of independence that ultimately made them
difficult to control.56Tomboy, the Creole slave leader, who was a master
carpenter,paid his master a monthly sum and took in apprentices,organizing
their outside employment to his own advantage. Hercules, another Creole
leader, was an "excellent tradesman and allmost the Support of the poor
family that owned him."57Both these Creoles, and many others like them,
were acculturatedblacks and, by virtue of their occupations,mobile. Mobility not only affordedthem accessto a wider world of values and ideas but also
facilitated their organizationof the slave plot. With the latitude, therefore,
that acculturation,job allotments, and the lax enforcementof the slave laws
made possible, many Creoles were more than simply psychologically
equippedto participatein the plot or to be in its vanguard.
The Coromantees,or slaves from the Gold Coast generally, composed a
sizable minority of the slave population in I736, though outnumberedby the
Creoles. Many Coromanteeswere acculturatedand had skilled occupations,
but the majorityseemed to have been unacculturatedfield hands. Like most
of the Creoles, the acculturatedand skilled Coromanteescould manipulate
their privileged status in the interest of resistance,but ultimately, more than
anything else, it was Court's influence that drew them, together with
unskilled Coromantees,into the plot. A Coromantee himself, Court reportedly arrived in Antigua at about ten years of age and lived there until his
execution at age thirty-five. He was employed as a waiting-man among the
slave elite. According to the judges, his master allowed him "to carry on a
trade and many other great Indulgencies than were allowed to any Slave in
the Island."58Over the years his charismaticpersonalityhelped establish him
as a highly respected slave leader, especially among the Coromantees,who
regarded him, indeed, as their king, although he did not descend from
African royalty. To the judges he seemed "artful and Ambitious, very proud
and of few words," and at his execution "he endeavouredto put on a Port
and Mein Suitable to his affected Dignity of King."59
While the Creoles respectedCourt as a leader, they seem to have had a
stronger allegiance to Tomboy, who was one of them. He was described as
56
Genovese, "On Elkins's Slavery," in Weinstein and Gatell, eds., American
Negro Slavery, 339.
57 General Report; "Extract of a Letter from
Antigua," Nov. IO, I736, C.O.
I52/23,
X32.
58
General Report.
59
Ibid.
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
32I
'of a RobustStrongbody, and resoluteTemper," with "A Genius adaptedto
Caballing."The charismaticleadershipthat he and Court shrewdlyexercised
was perhaps essential in forwarding a scheme that boldly and directly
challenged the power of the slaveholders.For many slaves, the decisive factor
in their recruitmentwas the faith they had in the integrity of these two
leaders.60
Because the Coromanteeswere not sufficientlynumerousto carryout the
revolt alone, Court stifled a "long coldness" that had existed between him
and Tomboy, and invited the Creole leader to join the plot with as many
followers as he could muster. This coalition enlarged the ranksof the rebels,
but becauseof the friction that seems to have existed between the two groups,
each was coordinatedby its own leaders.61 The recordsshow how the rebels
were recruited.Not only did recruitersplay upon the slaves' discontent, but
they employed the psychological tactic of questioning a slave's manhood.
Quashee, for example, testified that he was drawn into the plot, though
unwillingly, by the insults of Tomboy, who derided him as "Miss Betty."62
Conspiratorswere usually initiated at a feast where, after food and drink,
they took a solemn vow to kill whites. Sometimes the oath was taken upon a
grave, with an impressiveritual.63
At some meetings an obeahman administeredthe oath and, in his role as
diviner, performedrites intended to assurethe conspirators'success.According to H. Orlando Patterson, these sorcerersemployed an art that "largely
involved harming others at the request of clients, by the use of charms,
poisons, and shadow catching."64 Fear of these powers bound the plotters
more firmly to their vows. Two obeahmen are identified in the records:the
60 On this point Kilson argues that the three leaders of the best-known attempts
at collective resistance in the United States-Gabriel Prosser (Virginia, I800),
Denmark Vesey (South Carolina, I822), and Nat Turner (Virginia, I83i)-were
charismatic personalities, "imbued with a sense of personal destiny ... [who]
considered themselves to be divinely inspired and sanctioned in their endeavors"
("Towards Freedom," Phylon, XXV [i964], I84).
61 General Report. The judges claimed that the Creoles meant to enslave the
Coromanteesand other slaves when the revolt succeeded.
62 Trial of Troilus, alias Yabby. The slave Jack testified: "This Troilus took the
Oath with me at Secundi's the SaturdayNight and Said he Did so much Work in his
Masters Plantation, that he Did not Care he would Join, for they gave the Negro's
Six herrings a Week and gave him no more, he promised to be true to Secundi and
they talked Plainly in his presence of killing all the Whites, and Secundi praised
Natty and Troilus for brave fellows." Council Mins., Jan. I2, I737, C.O. 9/i0. Trial
of Thomas Hanson's Quashee, Nov. 24, I736, ibid.
63 According to the judges, the vow was taken "by drinking a health in Liquor,
either rum or some other with Grave Dirt, and sometimes Cocksblood in fused; and
sometimes the person swearing, Chewd Melageta Pepper" (General Report).
64 The Sociology of Slavery. An Analysis of the Origins, Development and
Structureof Negro Slave Society in Jamaica, Studies in Society (London, i967), i88.
322
WILLIAM AND
MARY QUARTERLY
governor's slave Caesar, who was executed, and a Coromantee, Quawcoo,
who was banished. The slave Quamina described Quawcoo's role at a
meeting:
I saw this Obey Man at Secundi's House after I waked at Midnight, I
found him and Hunts Cuffy there. Secundi gave him a Chequeen, a
Bottle of Rum and a Dominque Cock and Quawcoo put Obey made of
Sheeps Skin upon the ground, upon and about the bottle of Rum, and
the Chequeen upon the bottle, Then took the Cock, cut open his
Mouth, and one of his Toes, and so poured the Cocks blood Over all
the Obey, and then Rub'd Secundi's forehead with the Cocks bloody
Toe, Then took the Bottle and poured Some Rum upon the Obey,
Drank a Dram, and gave it to Secundi and made Secundi Sware not to
Discover his Name. Secundi Pledged him and Swore not to Discover his
name to any body. Secundi then Asked him when he must begin to
Rise. Quawcoo took a String ty'd knots in it, and told him not to be in a
hurry, for that he would give him Notice when to Rise and all Should
go well, and that as he tyed those knots so the Bacararas [Whites]
Should become Arrant fools and have their Mouths Stoped, and their
hands tyed that they should not Discover the Negro's Designs.
"By God," said Quamina to the judges, "if you had not Catchedme I would
not have told you now. I am afraid of this Obey Man now, he is a Bloody
fellow, I knew him in Cormantee Country."65
The real responsibility for the plot's success, however, lay with the
ringleaderswho had painstakinglylaid plans and recruited followers. Burdened with the responsibilityof maintaining solidarity among their recruits
over the long period of the plot's evolution, they relied heavily upon their
own influence and that of the obeahman, but as the day for the planned
revolt drew near the danger of discovery increasedwhen some of the rebels
became overconfident and loosely talked of the whites' fate, while the
behavior of others in defiance of authorityalso arousedsuspicion.The revolt
came close to taking place. Although there was much in the slaves' favor,
their scheme to seize the whole of Antigua was perhaps too ambitious and
complicated; yet, that was really the only alternative to the futility of
capturing only part of this small, relatively flat island, which possessed no
jungle or mountainouscountry sufficientlyinaccessibleto allow the rebels to
hold out against the whites and their reinforcements,as the blacks in the
Jamaica Cockpit Country were able to do, for example, between I725 and
I740.66
65
C.O.
Trial of William Hunt's Quawcoo, Dec.
II, I736,
Council Mins., Jan. I2,
I737,
9/I0.
66 H. Orlando Patterson, "Slavery and Slave Revolts: A Socio-HistoricalAnalysis of the First Maroon War, i655-I740," Social and Economic Studies, XIX (1970),
289-325. For an informative essay on maroon communities in the Americas see
ANTIGUA
SLAVE CONSPIRACY
323
TABLE I
MAIN RINGLEADERS OF THE I736 SLAVE PLOT IN ANTIGUA
Slave
Owner
EthnicGroup
Court
ThomasKerby
Tomboy ThomasHanson
Hercules JohnChristophers
Jack
PhilipDarby
Scipio
PhilipDarby
Ned
Col.JacobMorgan
Fortune Mrs.JohannaLodge
Toney
Secundi
Jacko
Coromantee
Creole
Creole
Creole
Creole
Creole
Creole,or arrived
as child
Creole
Col. SamuelMartin
Estateof Thomas
Freeman
Creole
Sr.WilliamCodrington Creole
Sources:GeneralReportC.O.
Board of Trade, May
Occupation
WaitingMan
Carpenter
Carpenter
Cooper
WaitingMan
Mason
Carpenter/Fiddler
?
Driver
Driver
I52/22,
W94, Public RecordOffice; Mathew to
26, I737, C.0. I52/23, X7.
As in other slave colonies of the Americas, the Antiguan slaves commonly engaged in a wide variety of acts of resistanceshort of open rebellion,
many of which did not requireelaborateplanning.67 Their plot of I736 was,
however, aimed at open rebellion, and when examined carefullyreflectssome
interesting functional aspects of slave culture as well as other supportive
featuresof the slave society in general. These importantelementsof structure
and content strongly suggest that the plot was ethnically oriented and
spawned by local conditions, making it not dissimilar from many other
episodes of early eighteenth-centurycollective slave resistancein the Caribbean.68The plot's most identifiable causes included the slaves' desire for
freedom, population imbalance, slave resistance,and the lax enforcementof
slave controls.Together, these underscoreda potentialfor collectiverebellion
that was enhancedby the economic difficultiesof the I730s, naturaldisasters,
sickness, and the emergence of slave leadership willing to exploit that
potential.
Richard Price, ed,, A!aroon Societies: Rebel S/ave Comnunities in the Americas
(Garden City, N.Y., 1973), I-30; see also Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, 256-262.
67 David Barry Gaspar, "Bondsmen and Rebels: Slave Resistance and Social
Control in Antigua, h700-763 (unpublished is) chap. 5.
68 See n. i8 above.