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Denmark Vesey
by David M. Robertson
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Knopf (1999-08-24)
ISBN: 067944288X
EAN: 9780679442882
Dewy Decimal #: 975.791503092
Hardcover: 224 pages
Edition: 1st
Release Date: 1999-08-24
SKU: 827-3.5
Condition: New
Comments: New book, new condition. I ship FAST. Ships same day or next in a bubble mailer. Enjoy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
On July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey and five co-conspirators were hanged in a desolate marsh outside of Charleston, South Carolina. They had been betrayed by black informers during their attempt to set in motion the largest slave rebellion in the history of the United States--an effort astonishing in its level of organization and support. Nine thousand armed slaves and free blacks were to converge on Charleston, set the city aflame, seize the government arsenal, and then murder the entire white population of the city, sparing only the ship captains who would carry Vesey and his followers to Haiti or Africa.
The attempted revolt was a significant episode in American history, yet it, and its leader, have been all but forgotten. In this balanced and gracefully written biography of Vesey--the first in many decades--David Robertson gives us a profile of this extraordinary man. He shows how, by preaching a doctrine of negritude combined with various religious elements, Vesey was able to attract large numbers of blacks to a messianic crusade for freedom. Robertson details the aftermath of the failed revolt, analyzes its social and political consequences, and articulates the essential, disturbing questions it poses to a racially and ethnically pluralistic society today.
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Amazon.com Review
In 1822, Denmark Vesey, a Caribbean-born free Negro from Charleston, South Carolina, led the largest attempted slave revolt in U.S. history with over 9,000 blacks. Although it failed--thanks to the confessions of a house slave to his master--and Vesey was executed, his heroic attempt continues to be a source of pride for African Americans. David Robertson's well-researched book chronicles Vesey's life as a slave in Haiti, his move to Charleston, his fluency in English, Creole, and French, and his skillful use of Christian teachings (and possibly Islamic ones, as well) to inspire the slaves to rebel. "He was a black man of great physical presence, strength, and intellect," Robertson writes, "linguistically fluent and politically facile enough to mold various African ethnic and religious groups into one unified force." Using court testimony from Vesey's trial and historical archives, Robertson unveils the stark and violent climate of antebellum life in 18th-century America, bringing to life a hero who fought for the same principles upon which the democratic nation in which he was made a slave was founded. --Eugene Holley Jr.
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Customer Reviews
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Biased Account
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-03-25
I was often annoyed with the author's inability to write an accurate and even handed account of the Great Denmark Vesey. There are way better books out there. I will continue to search until I find a historian who is fair and isn't afraid to tell it like it was. These myth makers are getting on my last nerves.
The only positive thing I can say is that the author directed me to some other historians, most notable John Hope Franklin. I bet he has done a better job.
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Should be required reading for all high school students
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-09-19
I have just finished Denmark Vesey and consider it one of the finest books I've ever had the pleasure to read. David Robertson is an extraordinary and talented author whom I feel deserves national attention. He gives us an extensively researched and scholarly piece of work that should be required reading for every high school student nationwide. I found his narrative both an informative and enlightening journey into the horrors of slavery in the 19th century South. Also well worth mentioning are Mr. Robertson's insights and philosophy which give us all a well needed opportunity to examine our own consciences as to what we have learned from history and how we as a nation still need to work to achieve harmony for all races in an ever growing diverse United States of America. An outstanding book.
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Vesey leads the largest slave rebellion in the U.S.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2002-07-05
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
David Robinson attempts to define the life of Denmark Vessey. Since Vessey is little known, and not much has been written about him, this short book attempts to define what motivated Denmark Vessey to try to lead on of the largest slave rebellions. Good background material about Barbados and Charlestown's links with the slave island. One of the previous reviewers called Vessey a Haitan, but his name indicates origin in the Danish Virgin Islands, as Robertson asserts. Because his origin is so obscure, Robertson puffs up what is known and makes it book length. More research could have led to a more interesting book. However Robertson does shed light on an interesting time in U. S. History.
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Few Facts, Many Legends
Rating  (4)
Date: 2002-02-11
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Probably the biggest obstacle to writing a biography of Denmark Vesey is the wealth of rumors and legends and a dearth of facts. All the greater is the loss as Mr. Vesey was a fascinating part of the history of Charleston and the history of this nation. Some of these legends survive even to this day and appear below in some of the reviews. A closer look implies that the plot almost certainly did not include the massacre of all whites in Charleston. Instead any whites seen coming out of their doors in the areas under attack, such as the armory, or seen to be assembling would be killed. Also, there were plans to put fire to parts of Charleston to create greater confusion if need be. These would be strategies necessary to the success of such an insurrection. In fact, the in-depth planning, organization and strategy of this attempted uprising is what sets it apart from other slave revolts in this country. I would strongly suggest reading this book as well as Egerton's to help get a clearer picture of the man and the insurrection.
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One very audacious attempt, and the man who led it
Rating (4)
Date: 2000-07-12
11 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
The more History I read of this Country the more I seem to read about South Carolina. I am not a concentrated reader of The Civil War, and while South Carolina played key roles in that conflict, it also was the locale of a number of additional notable events in this Country's History. If I were to pick one State the approximate vintage of South Carolina, I cannot make a better argument for a single State that was as independently oriented, and that defended its independence from influence outside its borders, and defended it with even greater passion from any Federal influence. To the very present, South Carolina has been expressing the same theme through the issue of what Flag they will fly over their Capital, and who the decision will be made by. A decision was reached, the flag may no longer fly over the Capital, but it shall fly not far from it.Denmark Vesey's birthplace is unknown contrary to the conflicting commercial reviews. From the book, "It is not confirmable whether Vesey was born in Africa or The West Indies". If there is a consistent thread through the book, it is how much is not known about this man who attempted what would have been a massive Rebellion, Slave in makeup or otherwise composed. This is not to say the book is not well done, quite the contrary. I believe that the documentation achieved by Mr. David Robinson is nothing short of remarkable when the effort to destroy all remnants of the rebellion is considered. The book loses no credibility because we don't know from what tree he was executed, nor where his body was finally buried. These issues are more legend than they will ever be fact, but these issues do not change the heart of the event, and the facts of what took place. Even Mr. Vesey's appearance is unknown except for the most impressionistic of drawings; the man visually is an enigma. The story as related is brief, 153 pages. But as evidenced by photographs and 40 pages of notes, the Historical detective work was clearly done. The Author presents what he knows, makes very little speculation, and to the extent he does, he places his feelings in a distinct chapter, "A Personal Conclusion". Staying away from the story so as not to spoil it, there was however an aspect of the South in 1822 that I had never read about in such detail. There were not 2 groups, there were many. Slaves, freed slaves like Mr. Vesey, and very defined and distinct groups among the black and white Communities. The distinctions amongst the people that Vesey wished to lead were the same that lead to his rebellions defeat. It is necessarily a brief story unless more information comes to light. With the material at hand and the documentation the Author found, I believe he did a very credible job of relating a relatively unknown event in our History. The question of what would have happened had Vesey succeeded, and the implications on this Country are not to be found in the book, nor do I believe it would be appropriate for such counter-factual debate to be placed in a Historical work. The "what if" scenarios are varied and certainly would have been momentous. However History did not take place as Mr. Vesey planned, and the historical record was systematically destroyed to the extent possible. What is important is that Denmark Vesey and other leaders like him take their place in our Historical record. Whether positive, negative, or aborted, events like these must be recounted or our History is incomplete.
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