9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but left wanting, November 23, 1999
This review is from: Denmark Vesey: The Buried History of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It (Hardcover)
Robertson's book is a very good introduction to a very interesting subject. However, it lacked detail and insight into a number of critical issues.
The focus of the book is on the 1822 aborted revolt of slaves around Charleston, South Carolina. Robertson does a fine job discussing the general slave conditions and their interactions with their oppressors. Particularly, his discussion of the "Magnolia and Sable Curtain" is absorbing. It is when the details of the rebellion are discussed that the book slips.
In fact there are very little details. This may be due to a lack of information in that the slave owners went to great lengths to destroy the record. Many important and interesting questions are left unanswered, including how the slaves could have got so close to sucesses.
The planned outcome of the revolt would have been the destruction of Charleston, the murder of all whites, including white children, in the City, and the sailing of the slaves to Africa. What is not even discussed is what would have been the effect of the sucess of the revolt on the abolition movement and the future of slavery. One could not reasonably contend that the killing of thousands of whites by slaves and the burning of an entire city would not have has a dramatic impact on the history of America.
All in all, the book was a worthwhile read. It was a good primer on the subject.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One very audacious attempt, and the man who led it, July 12, 2000
This review is from: Denmark Vesey: The Buried History of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It (Hardcover)
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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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Few Facts, Many Legends, February 11, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Denmark Vesey: The Buried History of America's Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It (Hardcover)
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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