Prosser, Gabriel (c. 1775–1800)

US slave insurrectionist who planned a major slave revolt in Virginia in 1800. Prosser and about 1,000 followers set out for Richmond (the state capital), but two house slaves informed on the conspirators. Panic swept Richmond, martial law was declared, and some 34 slaves implicated in the conspiracy were rounded up and hanged. Prosser was captured and was hanged on 7 October 1800.

Richmond, where slaves outnumbered whites by four-to-one, was chosen as the site of the rebellion. Prosser planned to kill all slave owners, but spare the French and Quaker inhabitants he felt were sympathetic to the black cause, along with women and children. He hoped the remaining 300,000 slaves in Virginia would follow his lead and take over the state. He was captured in the hold of the schooner Mary when it docked at Norfolk, Virginia. Brought back to Richmond in chains, he was interrogated by Governor James Monroe, but refused to divulge any information on the conspiracy.

He was probably born in Henrico County, Virginia. Other than being a coachman belonging to Thomas Prosser of Henrico County, little is known of his early life.