“New York Burning” is a novel by Jill Lepore. It tells the story of New York City during the American Revolution. The city was a hotbed of activity, with many people fighting for independence from Britain. The book follows the lives of several people who were involved in the conflict.
The book is well-researched and provides a detailed picture of New York City during this time period. Lepore does a good job of bringing the city to life, and the reader gets a sense of what it was like to be there during this chaotic time.
The book is not only about the Revolution, but also about race relations in America. New York had a large population of enslaved Africans, and the book examines the role they played in the conflict. It also looks at the ways that white New Yorkers treated their black counterparts, both during and after the war.
Overall, “New York Burning” is a fascinating look at a tumultuous time in American history. Lepore has done an excellent job of bringing the past to life, and readers will come away with a better understanding of the Revolution and its impact on America.
Ten fires in one night was enough to make any city dweller anxious, let alone the residents of Manhattan in 1741. When evidence surfaced that slaves had set those fires and planned to set more, thirty slaves were either burned at the stake or hanged while over one hundred black men and women were thrown into jail.
Lepore does an excellent job of bringing to life both New York City and the people who lived there in the eighteenth century. She does not shy away from the brutal reality of slavery or the dangerous conditions that slaves were forced to live in. New York Burning is a powerful novel that will leave readers with a better understanding of the slave conspiracy and the effects it had on New York City.
I believe there was a conspiracy in 1741, when the slaves of New York planned to burn down the city. It all began on Christmas Day, 1740, at the house of John Hughson. Hughson invited black slaves to his home for supper, drinks, cards, dice games, and dancing. They were also informed of a plan during this time; a plot to “cause fire in the town and kill the white people.”
The slaves were to begin the fire on the night of Good Friday, April 6. The fires would start in different parts of New York and then come together as one big fire, hence burning New York to the ground.
The first fire started on March 22 on Pearl Street. A man by the name of Caesar, a slave belonging to William Kane, was brought in for questioning. Under torture, Caesar named Hughson and his house as the place where he heard of the plot. As a result, Kane and his family were arrested and jailed.
On April 6, more than a dozen fires broke out around New York City. Most of them were quickly extinguished, but three grew into large fires that seriously damaged parts of the city. The fires were finally put out by rain and by the citizens of New York working together.
In the aftermath, more than 100 people, both black and white, were arrested and jailed. Some of those who confessed to being part of the plot were burned at the stake. In the end, no one really knows if there was a plot or not. But the evidence suggests that there may have been some truth to it. New York Burning is a fascinating book that tells the story of this event in great detail.
According to one version of the story, after he returned home from Fort Duquesne, Caesar explained that he would become king and that Hughson would become governor if they joined forces. 80 of the 152 black New Yorkers arrested in 1741 admitted to taking part in the conspiracy. The plot began to unravel in February of 1741, when a robbery occurred. On February 26, 1741, a young English sailor named Christopher Wilson went to Robert Hogg’s shop.
Wilson had been in New York for only a few weeks and was trying to make some quick money so he could buy a passage back to England. Wilson told Hogg that he had information about a plot to burn down the city. Hogg went to the mayor, cadwalader Davies, and Wilson repeated his story. Davies then took action and called for a meeting of the Common Council on March 1. New York was in a panic, people were Petitions poured in from all over New York City asking that soldiers be sent to help protect them from the fire.
The trial of the accused conspirators began on May 11 and ended on June 8. In all, 23 men and 29 women were convicted and sentenced to death. On July 13, 1741, New York City held the largest mass execution in its history. In all, 31 blacks were burned at the stake while another 6 were hanged. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people came to watch the executions. New York City would not see another mass execution until September 11, 2001.
New York Burning is a novel by Jill Lepore that tells the story of the 1741 slave conspiracy in New York City. The novel centers around the trial of the accused conspirators and the executions that followed. New York Burning is a well-researched and well-written novel that brings to life one of the darkest moments in New York City’s history.
While paying for the goods, he noticed where the money was kept. He next visited John Hughson’s tavern to talk with Hughson and three black men: Caesar, Prince, and Cuffee. They developed a plan to rob Robert Hogg’s store together. Wilson went into the shop on February 28th and undiscovered pushed back the bolt on the business’s side door.
That night, Wilson and the three black men returned and looted the shop. The next day, they were caught when Hogg’s apprentice, Hughson’s son-in-law John Rommely, saw them trying to sell the stolen goods at Hughson’s tavern.
The men were brought before magistrates Stephen De Lanceyand Peter Van Brugh Livingston. Initially, only Wilson and Cuffee confessed, but after days of torture all four men confessed to participating in the robbery. Caesar and Prince also implicated themselves in another fire that had broken out on New Year’s Eve. The New York Gazette reported that the “accused persons have made very full discoveries” and that more than two dozen people had been arrested in connection with the fires.
The New York City jail quickly filled up with suspects, both black and white. On March 21, 1741, a grand jury indicted nineteen people, including Mary Burton, a white woman who ran a brothel frequented by black men; John Hughson and his wife, Sarah; and their daughter, Peggy Kerry. The Hughsons and Kerry were also indicted for selling liquor to slaves.
