1712

On April 6, approximately 25 enslaved Akan and Coromantee Africans set fire to a building in lower Manhattan and ambushed whites who came to extinguish it, killing 9 and wounding 6. Colonial militia suppressed the revolt. In the aftermath, 21 enslaved people were executed — some burned at the stake, broken on the wheel, or hung in chains — and 6 died by suicide before capture.

Following the 1712 revolt, New York enacted laws making manumission nearly impossible by requiring freed people's former enslavers to pay a £200 bond and £20 per year annuity. The laws also restricted enslaved people from gathering in groups of more than three. Fear of rebellion was used to justify permanent restrictions on all Black New Yorkers, free and enslaved.

Following the 1712 revolt, New York made manumission nearly impossible by requiring a £200 bond and £20 annual annuity. Laws also restricted enslaved people from gathering in groups of more than three. Fear of rebellion was used to permanently restrict all Black New Yorkers.

Pennsylvania, under Quaker influence, imposed a prohibitive import duty on enslaved people in 1712, effectively limiting the growth of slavery in the colony. The law reflected ongoing Quaker moral pressure following the 1688 Germantown petition. While not abolition, it created conditions under which Pennsylvania had a smaller enslaved population than its Southern counterparts and Quaker abolitionists had more social leverage.

Pennsylvania imposed a prohibitive import duty on enslaved people in 1712, limiting slavery's growth under Quaker influence. While not abolition, it created conditions where Pennsylvania had fewer enslaved people and Quaker abolitionists had more social leverage.

Enslaved New Yorkers set fires and fought back; brutal executions followed.