JSYK: The New York Slave Conspiracy of 1741 (Patreon)

This is certainly one of history's many mysteries...something I wish I could go back and experience for myself so I could get to the bottom of what was really going on. When fires raged across Manhattan during the Spring of 1741, the prime suspects were slaves and free blacks, accused of trying to kill all the white citizens. But the net for culprits grew larger, and soon there was talk of a conspiracy between blacks and poor whites waging a class war. Later accusers claimed Spain was trying to spread discord through the British colonies (both countries were locked into The War of Jenkins Ear). You've heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but this was just as mysterious and devastating. After watching the video, let me know what you think REALLY went down. 

Sources

The New York Conspiracy of 1741 (Primary Source Document by Daniel Horsmanden)

Witch Hunt in New York: The 1741 Rebellion (PBS Documentary)

New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan (Jill Lepore)