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Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) (c. 1767 –July 2, 1822) was a free Black man and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822. [1]
The plot called for Vesey and his group of enslaved people and free blacks to execute their enslavers and temporarily liberate the city of Charleston. Vesey and his followers planned to sail to Haiti to escape retaliation. Two enslaved men opposed to Vesey's scheme leaked the plot. Charleston authorities charged 131 men with conspiracy.
Eventually, the Vesey plot was leaked by other enslaved people who were coerced into confession. Gullah Jack was arrested for his part in the plot on July 5, 1822, and was tried for his role in the planning, along with 130 others. [3] Ultimately, South Carolina authorities hanged Vesey, Gullah Jack, and 34 other leading conspirators.
The Vesey Plot causes fear among whites in South Carolina, who are convinced that Denmark Vesey and other slaves are planning a violent slave uprising in the Charleston area. The plot is discovered and Vesey and 34 of his presumed followers are seized and hanged. [87]
Vesey then planned to sail with these freed slaves to Haiti, with Vesey having reached out to officials in that country to gain their support. However, the plan fell apart when a slave reported the plot to his owner. [2] Vesey and several co-conspirators were arrested in summer 1822, and five days later, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
The Jail was active after the discovery of Denmark Vesey's planned slave revolt. [3] Although the main trials were held elsewhere, four white men convicted of supporting the 1822 plot were imprisoned here. [citation needed] Tradition holds that Vesey spent his last days in the Jail before being hanged, although no extant document indicates this.
Like Denmark Vesey, most of South Carolina's free blacks lived in Charleston, where there were opportunities for work and companionship. A free African American subculture developed there. Charlestonian blacks held more than 55 different occupations, including a variety of artisan and craft jobs.
July 14 – Denmark Vesey's planned slave rebellion in Charleston, South Carolina is suppressed (known also as "The Vesey Conspiracy"). [citation needed] 1827. March 16 - Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper in the U.S., begins publication. [citation needed] 1829