Africana Studies Commons^™

Poplar Neck And The Prince George's Slave Conspiracy Of 1739, Alan Virta

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the late 1730 and early 1740s, enslaved African Americans in the British colonies of North America rose up in several independently organized revolts and conspiracies in vain attempts to win their freedom. Maryland was the scene of one of these acts of resistance. According to local contemporary accounts, Prince George’s County escaped massive violence in 1739 only because a conspiracy was discovered and suppressed before the revolt could be executed. The civil authorities apprehended the alleged conspirators and tried them for rebellion and attempted murder. The leader of the conspiracy, an enslaved man named Jack Ransom, was put to …