RESPONSE TO THE FIRST MAJOR SLAVE REBELLION IN THE COLONIES, PRINTED BY WILLIAM BRADFORD, THE FIRST PRINTER IN NEW YORK

[NEW YORK SLAVE REBELLION]. Acts passed by the General Assembly of the Colony of New-York, in December, 1712. [New York: William Bradford, 1712]. Small folio (298 x 184 mm). CONTAINS A LENGTHY ACT FOR “PREVENTING, SUPPRESSING, AND PUNISHING THE CONSPIRACY AND INSURRECTION OF NEGROES AND SLAVES”. The New York slave rebellion of 1712 was a violent insurrection of slaves in New York City that resulted in brutal execution and the enactment of harsher slave codes. The rebellion, instigated by African-born slaves who used their African-based religion to encourage other slaves to revolt, calling for a war on Christians, was executed on the night of 6 April 1712 after a group of slaves set fire to an outhouse on what was then the northern edge of Manhattan which was a signal to other slaves to begin the revolt. The slaves then fired into groups of the panicked white citizens, killing nine and wounding six. Of the approximately 40 slaves brought to trial, 18 were acquitted and a few others were pardoned. The remaining were brutally executed and in response to the rebellion, strict codes were enacted, which included harsher punishments as the slaveholders saw fit, decreased contact among slaves, and the prohibition of slave-owned firearms. Church 853.