The Servants’ Plot was a 1663 rebellion that is believed to be the first uprising of American workers against their employers. In this case, the workers were Indentured Servants and slaves working in Gloucester County, Virginia, who planned to use violence to force Governor William Berkeley to free them from their contracts. The Plot was exposed, the conspirators were arrested, and at least four of them were executed.
10 Things to Know About the Servants’ Plot
The Servants’ Plot, also called the Gloucester County Conspiracy or Birkenhead’s Rebellion, occurred in the British Province of Virginia in 1663.
It was one of the earliest documented attempts at a rebellion involving slaves in the 1600s in what would become the United States of America.
The plot involved African, English, Irish, and Native American Indians who were working as Indentured Servants and slaves who sought to overthrow colonial authorities.
On September 1, 1663, nine conspirators met at Peter Knight’s house in Gloucester County, Virginia, to plan their uprising. The conspirators were John Gunter, William Bell, Richard Darbishire, John Hayte, Thomas Jones, William Ball, William Poultney, William Bendell, and Thomas Collins. The group appointed Bell and Gunter as their leaders.