Historians now doubt that the arsonists and other criminals were the actual conspirators. It is clear, though, that the White, Protestant colonial authorities benefited greatly from accusations against – and executions of – enslaved Black people and Catholics. Months before the fire, a kind of hysteria was spreading among the residents of Manhattan, which was home to one of the largest slave populations in the American colonies. Craftsmen were teaching their trades to slaves, then selling the work of their slaves at far cheaper prices than those of competing craftsmen.
The increase in arson and looting came at the same time as food shortages and increasing xenophobia among many New Yorkers. These factors combined, causing a kind of mania similar to the atmosphere that led to the Salem Witch Trials 50 years earlier. Judge Daniel Horsmanden was appointed to investigate, but his tactics stoked New Yorkers’ anxieties by calling the fires and robberies a conspiracy, a slave revolt, and a “Pope-ish plot.” Historians who study this time question the truth of these allegations, but many New Yorkers believed them. Residents saw impoverished immigrants form tightly knit groups that might now be called communities. And the city’s embrace of slavery meant more people of color on the streets and working in the trades across New York. Another important point: England had been at war with Spain for two years, making a Catholic plot against what was still an English colonial city seem credible.
Enter Mary Burton, a 16-year-old Irish indentured servant. She was pressured by Judge Horsmanden to testify in trials against Black slaves and Catholics that, despite lack of evidence, he believed were guilty of arson and looting. For her testimony, Burton was freed from her indentured servitude and paid the large sum of a hundred British pounds. An estimated 30 Black people and four white Catholics, including a pregnant sex worker, were convicted and publicly executed. Another 80 people, most of them Black, were exiled. The court proceedings empowered the white Protestant leaders of the colony to exert more control over New York, impose new and stricter laws on enslaved people, and further establish the white supremacist attitudes that already existed in the colony. In his journal, Judge Horsmanden claimed that these tighter controls over the City led to fewer fires and robberies, which quelled the hysteria of New Yorkers.
A colorized illustration of the intentionally set fires that led to specious accusations of a criminal conspiracy in New York in 1741. This uncredited piece is titled (in French): 'Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck' (translation: Representation of the terrible fire in New York) Image source: New York Public Library
On this day in 1741, the 'New York Conspiracy' began when arsonists torched the colonial Governor’s home. In the weeks that followed, more fires were intentionally set across the City and thieves found them useful as cover for looting.
The #Disinformation and #FalseAllegations seem eerily current.
