The 1831 Nat Turner Rebellion: Enslaved Prophet's Revolt

In August 1831, an enslaved preacher named Nat Turner led a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, that became one of the bloodiest and most consequential slave uprisings in American history. This episode traces Turner's life, his religious visions, the planning and execution of the revolt, and its brutal aftermath—including the deaths of roughly 60 white men, women, and children, followed by a wave of reprisal killings of up to 200 Black people. We examine Turner's 'Confessions' as recorded by Thomas R. Gray, the legal and political fallout in Virginia's legislature, and the crackdown on Black education and assembly that followed. Also discussed: the role of the Swamp, the murder of the Travis family, the siege at Benjamin Phipps's farm, and how the rebellion hardened pro-slavery ideology across the South. #NatTurner #SouthamptonRebellion #SlaveRevolt #Virginia1831 #ThomasRGray #TheConfessions #DismalSwamp #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #AntebellumSouth #SlaveRebellions #Prophecy #ReligiousVision #Abolitionism #History #FexingoHistory #AtlanticSlaveTrade #Resistance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo