Part 5. A New Slave Market in 1711, Followed by a Black Revolt in 1711

In 1711, New York City had 6,000 to 8,000 residents, with about 1,000 enslaved individuals. Their separate ownership allowed the enslaved frequent contact with each other. Enslaved workers would roam the city looking for work, allowing them to fraternize. More African compatriots arrived by the transatlantic slave route daily. This made whites nervous. Their solution was to build a Slave Market near Wall Street, between Pearl and Water Streets, near the East River. It made buying, selling, and hiring enslaved people more organized and profitable. The city could regulate transactions, collect fees, and concentrate transactions in one place.

Could the market have fueled the enslaved people’s anger, contributing to the revolt a few months later? Historically, is it a coincidence that the Slave Market was on the exact grounds that became the world’s financial center?

On the night of April 6 (some say April 7), the 1712 Rebellion began in an orchard on Maiden Lane near Manhattan’s northern edge. Many Manhattan enslaved persons belonged to the Akan ethnic group, coming from Ghana’s Gold Coast. Most of the rebels were Coromantins, known for their warrior skills in Ghana.

The rebels set Peter Van Tilburgh’s Maiden Lane home afire as a signal for others to join the revolt. As the townspeople came out of their homes, a minimum of 23 rebels confronted them, armed with guns, axes, and knives. The whites panicked because of their arms. Some whites fled to Fort George on Manhattan’s tip to alert Governor Robert Hunter and the militia.

Some rebels ran north toward a wooded swamp, while the townspeople and militia captured others near Canal Street. Nine whites died in battle, and six rebels committed suicide. Authorities burned 4 of the 40 tried rebels alive, crushed one with a wheel, and left another to starve in chains. They acquitted 18 and pardoned a few. They allowed one woman to live until she gave birth, then killed her, and they hanged the remaining rebels.