![]() On the evening of Sunday, August 21, 1831, Turner met six associates in the woods at Cabin Pond, and about 2:00 a.m. ![]() The fallout of Turner’s inspiration and organizing is described in Paul Royster’s Abstract to the digitized primary source document, “ The Confessions of Nat Turner (1831)” (a biased pamphlet, produced for profit by a young lawyer involved in the trials of the rebels): With this confidence, Turner and seven other enslaved people moved forward with their plans. While still planning the uprising, Turner saw that the color of the sun had changed to a bluish-green, which he believed was the final sign to initiate the uprising. After sharing this experience with a few close friends, they began to plan an insurrection. Less than a year after the sale, Turner received what he assumed was a sign from God when he witnessed the eclipse of the sun. Turner was sold to enslaver Joseph Travis in 1830. He soon became known among fellow people in bondage as “The Prophet.” Turner also began to believe that God had chosen him to free his people from slavery. Taught to read by the son of his enslaver, Turner studied Christianity which he interpreted as condemning slavery. Turner’s rebellion echoed in anti-Black, pro-slavery policies and in the opposing fervor of the abolitionist movements across the United States for decades to come.įrom (with selected edits to terminology by ZEP): It lasted 48 hours before armed, white men suppressed the revolt. 21, 1831, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner launched one of the most historic revolts to end enslavement in Southampton County, Virginia. Both public and academic library collections, alike, will be enhanced by this film, which is highly recommended.On Aug. The technical quality of Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property is excellent. I appreciate the avoidance of establishing one definitive interpretation of Nat Turner. ![]() Interviews, archival footage, and dramatizations of various points from Turner’s life are interspersed allowing the viewer to form their own conclusions. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property not only chronicles the August 21st slave uprising, but also highlights how the man has been remembered and interpreted throughout the years. Were these the actual words of Nat Turner? Or, were his words re-shaped and embellished? It’s difficult to take the words of Gray’s publication on face value, yet they cannot be discounted. These sessions were eventually published in The Confessions of Nat Turner, which stands as the main source of information regarding Turner’s reasons for launching the insurrection. Gray, a Virginia lawyer, from jailhouse interviews. On November 11th, Nat Turner was executed by hanging and then skinned.ĭays before his execution, Turner’s words were recorded and compiled by Thomas R. Within the 24-hour period, the rebels rose to forty slaves who killed a total of fifty-five white people. On August 21, 1828, in Southampton County, Virginia, Turner began his rebellious force with six of his men. Nat Turner, a slave, driven by divine intervention or insanity, organized one of the most infamous 24-hour slave insurrections in American history. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property is a documentary film that takes on a very ambiguous, controversial as well as historical figure.
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