If you're looking for information on Nathanial "Nat" Turner, you've come to the right place. Here you'll learn more about his life and work, including his slave rebellion and imprisonment by William Styron. You'll also learn about his books, which are incredibly powerful and relevant today.
Nathanial "Nat" Turner
Nathanial "Nat" Turner was an enslaved man who led an enslaved rebellion in August 1831. Nat was born into a slave family and began learning how to read and write at an early age. He was also taught religion on Benjamin Turner's plantation in Southampton County, Virginia. Nat was sold three times during his childhood. He was eventually purchased by Tom Moore for $475. During his time as a slave, Nat preached his sermons to fellow slaves and commanded them to submit to him. Many white plantation owners were also interested in Nat's ability to preach and used his sermons to quell the unrest among slaves.
The revolt, which lasted only a few days, led to the death of hundreds of enslaved people. It was one of the most notable occurrences in American history, spurring a new wave of anti-slavery legislation. It was the first time that a slave rebellion had a lasting impact on history.
His slave revolt
The Nat Turner's Rebellion, also known as the Southampton Insurrection, took place in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831. It left between fifty and sixty people dead, most of them White. Nat Turner was one of the main leaders of the revolt. This historic event lasted only a week, but its effects have been felt across the nation.
Nat Turner rejected the notion that all people had the right to life and liberty. He referred to the Declaration of Independence as flawed and repeatedly reminded the audience that freedom did not apply to enslaved people.
His imprisonment by William Styron
"Nat Turner's Imprisonment" is an intriguing novel about a black man who spends half his life on a Virginia plantation, working for a wealthy white aristocrat. While he spends his days doing hard labor, he also learns to read and write. Eventually, he becomes a master carpenter. The rape of his mother by an Irish overseer gives him a physical dislike for white people and a deep revulsion for women. Throughout the novel, Nat learns to censor himself and he learns to control himself.
While Styron's novel is a classic example of a historical fiction, it has faced criticism from many African Americans who found its portrayal of slaveowners offensive. In particular, black readers were horrified by the novel's portrayal of Margaret Whitehead, a white woman who flirts with Nat and talks endlessly about her love for the poor and downtrodden blacks.
His books
Unlike Nat Turner's narratives, Styron's novel is set during the height of the Black Power movement, a period of race riots in the U.S., and has been denounced by some civil rights activists as racist. Styron depicts Nat as a man whose soul is full of hatred for white women and who fantasizes about raping them.
Turner's writing is florid and full of biblical references. He describes his mother's rape, the brutality of fellow slaves, his education, his sexual and religious awakening, and his murder of a white woman. He also reveals his feelings of guilt and cowardice.
His followers
In 1831, Nat Turner and his followers organized a revolt against white slavery. While they were organized to free the slaves in Virginia, Turner had deeper motives. The Virginia legislature had denied free blacks the right to jury trials, which allowed them to be removed and re-enslaved.
As a prophet, Turner held religious services for enslaved people and claimed to see visions from God. He interpreted these visions for his fellow plantation workers. In 1821, Turner was driven from his birth plantation but returned in 1824 after having a vision from God. Turner's vision of a judgment day in the future inspired him to act. He believed that his visions had ordained him to bring justice to the plantation owner.
Turner was found on October 30, 1831, by Benjamin Phipps and executed along with 16 followers. This sparked a slave revolt that left many Black people dead. In the months following the revolt, whites organized militias and massacred many of Turner's followers. Slave owners were fearful of a possible black rebellion and imposed harsher laws to keep their slaves in slavery.
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