Full Name
Denmark Vesey (born c. 1767)[2]
Date of Birth
c. 1767[2]
Date of Death
July 2, 1822[2]
Place of Birth
probably St. Thomas, Danish West Indies[2]
Spouse’s Name
- Not available
Children’s Names
- Not available
Known Affiliates Names
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
- Not available
Legacy
Denmark Vesey was a self-educated Black man who planned the most extensive slave rebellion in U.S. history in 1822 in Charleston, South Carolina[2]. Born in St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, Vesey was sold to a Bermuda slaver captain named Joseph Vesey and assumed the latter’s surname[2]. He won his freedom in 1800 with $600 he had won in a street lottery[2]. Vesey’s rebellion plan called for the rebels to attack guardhouses and arsenals, seize their arms, kill all whites, burn and destroy the city, and free the enslaved people[2]. As many as 9,000 Blacks may have been involved, though some scholars dispute this figure[2]. The plot was discovered before it could be implemented, and Vesey and his men were arrested[2]. Out of 131 men arrested and charged with conspiracy, 67 were convicted and 35 were hanged, including Vesey[5].
Citations: [1] https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/denmark_vesey.html [2] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Denmark-Vesey [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_Vesey [4] https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1112040871/denmark-vesey-is-honored-his-slave-revolt-was-thwarted-and-he-was-executed [5] https://www.nps.gov/people/denmark-vesey.htm