Nat Turner - COMMUNITY CREATOR

Nat Turner was born a slave in South Hampton, Virginia on October 2, 1800. He learned to read and write at an early age. Study of the bible was his primary source of knowledge and inspiration

    

Turner often preached the Bible to his fellow slaves, and conducted Baptist services by the wayside. His fellow slaves on the plantation dubbed him "the prophet," He also had an influence over white abolitionists who supported him.

Turner spent his lifetime in a plantation area in which the enslaved laborers made up the majority population. He was often identified by his peers as having "natural intelligence, and quickness of apprehension."

He was deeply religious, and was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories and laws of the scriptures. He frequently had visions which he interpreted as messages from God. These visions greatly influenced his life.

In 1828 Turner was convinced that he was "ordained for some great purpose in the  hands of the Almighty."

Early in the beginning months of 1831, Turner came to believe that certain changes in atmospheric conditions, were signs that he should start preparing for the  rebellion of slaves against their owners. 

Finally on August 2, 1831, Turner lead a rebellion of over 70 slaves and free Blacks that resulted in the deaths of over 60 white people.

 The revolt was suppressed in two days, and then hundreds of Blacks were hunted down and arrested; some of them had nothing to do with the rebellion.

Turner was captured around October 30, 1831, when he was discovered in an underground hideout by a white farmer. 

He was tried, convicted, and hung by the neck until dead on November 11th. 

As a result of "Nat Turner's Rebellion," Southern states passed stricter laws on the already harsh laws governing the institution of slavery to prevent further Black uprisings from occurring.

During the times after the rebellion, Blacks have come to regard Turner as a hero of resistance, who made slave-owners pay for the hardships they caused Black people to suffer..

Some historians believe that Nat Turner's rebellion marked the turning point in the Black struggle for liberation.

To read more on Nat Turner, Google-search his name.

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