Three and a half decades before the city of New York witnessed the
first great battle waged by the new United States of America for
its independence, rumors of a massive conspiracy among the city's
slaves spread panic throughout the colony. On the testimony of
frightened bondsmen and a handful of whites, over seventy slaves
were convicted and a third of these were executed.
The suspected conspiracy in New York prompted one of the most
extensive slave trials in colonial history and some of the most
grisly punishments ever meted out to individuals. Peter Hoffer now
retells the dramatic story of those landmark trials, setting the
events in their legal and historical contexts and offering a
revealing glimpse of slavery in colonial cities and of the way that
the law defined and policed the institution.
Among other things, Hoffer reveals how conspiracy became a
central feature of the law of slavery at the same time as it
reflected the white belief that slaves were always conspiring
against their masters. He draws on uniquely revealing firsthand
accounts of the trials to both retell a gripping story and open a
window on colonial American justice. He leads readers through a
chain of events involving robbery and arson that culminated in the
trials of a group of white men suspected of inciting the slaves to
revolt.
The episode, so vital to our understanding of a time when
slavery was an entrenched institution and the law made even the
angry muttering of slaves into a criminal act, has much to tell us
about current affairs as well. African slaves in colonial times
were viewed by authorities and citizens much as some foreigners are
today: inherently dangerous, easily identifiable, and constantly
conspiring.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
