Virginia Easter Plot: Multi-County Slave Conspiracy Betrayed by Informant

In 1709, a plot involving both enslaved Africans and enslaved Native Americans spread across at least three Virginia counties — James City, Surry, and Isle of Wight. A second conspiracy, involving only African American enslaved people, was planned to launch on Easter 1710. An enslaved man named Will betrayed the plot to authorities. Will was granted his freedom as reward; his enslaver Robert Ruffin was compensated £40 from public funds. Two of the plot's leaders were tried by the General Court, convicted, and executed. The conspiracies were part of a wave of early 18th-century Virginia plots that reflected growing resistance to the hardening racial slavery codified by the 1705 slave codes.