Arson as Resistance — Documented Acts

Colonial records across Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, and New York document scores of fires attributed to enslaved people. Arson targeted barns, crops, and houses — destroying wealth without direct confrontation. Fires preceded both the 1712 New York revolt and the 1741 conspiracy investigations. Planters understood arson as a form of war; many colonies made arson by enslaved people a capital offense.