Gabriel was born into slavery in 1776, the same year our Nation was born into freedom.1 He grew up during the waning years of the Enlightenment Age with the relatively good fortune of having access to education and independence. He was considered a man of character above his circumstances, trusted by his master, Thomas Prosser. He was hired out and retained some of his wages.2
In 1800, Gabriel coordinated America’s first major slave rebellion.3
Gabriel was intelligent, literate and a natural leader. He had support from Frenchmen he knew at a time when France was establishing Liberal Democracy following their own revolution. Gabriel was inspired by the French and our Founding Fathers to pursue liberty by way of revolt, to end slavery in America.4
Gabriel’s plan for revolution spared allies of the enslaved: Frenchmen, Methodists, Quakers and poor whites.5
Unfortunately, heavy rain and betrayal worked against Gabriel and his compadres. Their plans were thwarted and they paid the ultimate price. The backlash was severe. Death for dozens of men, but more notably the freedoms that had enabled Gabriel’s near-success (and a similar effort by some boatmen 2 years later) were taken away for all with dark skin. Oppression was legislated.
At the time, although advocating an end to slavery, not all Abolitionists believed in equality. Free people with no means of support weren’t welcome throughout the country.6 Manumission laws were put on the books requiring newly freed slaves to leave their ex-State of residence.7
There is no defense for the practice of chattel slavery. There’s no Biblical reference that would support such reprehensible treatment of fellow man. The myth that slaves were content was busted. The 60 years that followed Gabriel’s rebellion are dark ones in our history, with oppression of truths that defied the narrative. Gabriel’s story was suppressed for political reasons.8
Today, some insidious myths remain. I hope to untangle and cut away the poisonous roots and weeds of untruths that compromise our future.
Let’s do this!
https://www.ushistory.org/US/20f.aspd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%27s_Rebellion
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gabriel-American-bondsman
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/gabriel-prosser
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/gabriels-conspiracy-1800/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Codes_(United_States)```
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4246165
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/gabriels-conspiracy-1800/