1. Nathaniel Turner
Nat was born on Oct. 2nd, 1800.
He was a American slave who led a slave
uprising in Virginia on Aug. 21st, 1831 that
ended in 60 slaver deaths & at least 100
slave deaths.

2. Nat Turner Part 2
• He gained followers in Southampton County,
Virginia. Turner was imprisoned, & hung to death.
In the aftershock, the state executed 56 slaves
accused of having a role in Turner’s uprising. 200
African Americans were also beaten & killed by
white militiamen & mob men reacting with
revenge. Across Virginia & other southern states,
state legislators made new laws forbidding
education of African Americans, limiting rights of
assembly & other civil rights for African
Americans, & requiring white ministers to be
present at African American worship services.

3. Nat Turner part 3
• At birth on Oct. 2nd, 1800, Turner’s master
recorded only his first name, Nat, although he
may have had a last name inside the slave
community. In accordance w/ common method,
the slavers referred to him by the last name of his
master, Benjamin Turner. This method was
continued by historians. Turner knew little about
the history of his father, who was believed to
have escaped from slavery when Turner was a
young boy. Turner stayed close to his paternal
grandmother, Old Bridget, who was also owned
by Benjamin Turner.

4. Nat Turner part 4
• Turner’s maternal grandmother was 1 of the Coromantee
from present-day Ghana, a group popular for slave
uprisings. She was caught in Africa at 13 years old &
imported to America. Turner spent his life in Southampton
County, Virginia, a predominantly African American area.
After the uprising, a reward notice described Turner as: 5ft
6 or 8in tall, 150-160ibs, rather bright complexion, but not
a mulatto, broad shoulders, larger flat nose, large eyes,
broad flat feet, rather knockkneed, walks brisk & active,
hair on the top of the head very thin, no beard, except on
the upper lip & the top of the chin, a scar on one of his
temples, also one on the back of his neck, a large knot on
one of the bones of his right arm, near the wrist, produced
by a blow.

5. Nat Turner part 5
• Turner had “natural intelligence & swiftness of
apprehension, surpassed by few.” He learned to read &
write at a young age. Deeply religious, Nat was
commonly seen fasting, praying, or immersed in
reading the Holy Bible. He frequently had prophecies
which he interpreted as messages from God. These
prophecies greatly inspired his life; for example, when
Turner was 22 yrs. Old, he ran away from his master,
but returned a month later after having such a
prophecy. Turner often conducted Baptist services,
preaching the Holy Bible to his fellow slaves, who
nicknamed him “The Prophet”.