The Brutal Slave Master Who Was Executed For Killing His Own Slave

The Brutal Slave Master Who Was Executed For Killing His Own Slave

Arthur William Hodge was a plantation farmer and a cruel slave owner who was hanged on 8th May, 1811 for the murder of one of his workers. Prior to his execution, Hodge had lived in the British Virgin Islands and was a member of the Council and Legislative Assembly. He became the first West Indian slave owner to be executed for the murder of a slave.

In his younger years, Hodge had served in the British Army and after his father died, he returned to the British Virgin Islands to take charge of the family’s plantation. In 1811 when Hodge was indicted for murdering one of his male slaves, Prosper, much of the evidence revealed how cruel and merciless he had been to his slaves.

Here’s how it happened

On 2nd October 1807, Hodge flogged one of his male slaves known as Prosper, for allowing a mango fall down from a tree. Hodge had given him the responsibility of looking after the mango and under Prosper’s watch, the mango should never fall to the ground. Sadly, the fruit fell and Hodge demanded that Prosper pay him 6 shillings as punishment for letting the mango fall.

The result of Prosper’s inability to pay was that he was severely flogged by Hodge. Thirteen days later, the slave died from the wounds inflicted on him during the beating. Another source reports that Prosper was flogged 100 times on consecutive days till he became too weak to cry out. Afterwards, he was carried to a sick house and left there. When he was found, there was no piece of black flesh on the part where he had been beaten.

For three years, Hodge was not indicted until 1811 when a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Crime and Trial

During the trial, evidence revealed that Prosper was not the first slave that Hodge had beaten to death. As a slave master, he was well known for whipping slaves and pouring hot water on them. Not only was he cruel to adult slaves, he was also cruel to the younger slaves that were children. Hodge’s daughter was also not spared from his acts of cruelty; She was an 8-year-old child that he had with one of his slaves, Peggy.

Hodge would put the heads of the children in and out of water till they lost consciousness.

During that time, two strong prosecution witnesses during Hodge’s trial were Stephen Mckeough, a man that had inspected Hodge’s estate and Perreen Georges, a free black woman. Perreen Georges had given evidence at the trial. She testified that she was present during the beating and that Prosper was beaten with a cart-whip and had fainted while he endured being flogged mercilessly. While testifying, Perreen had revealed that Prosper “was laid down and flogged for a mango which dropt off a tree and which Mr Hodge said he should pay six shillings for”.

The cart-whip that was used in flogging Prosper was believed to be “an instrument of punishment … made of wood and rope of the value of one shilling…”. It was used to whip slaves.

A desperate Prosper had run to the hut of Perreen to beg for six shillings so that he could pay his master. He was able to get 3 shillings, but this had proved insufficient for the latter. One hour later, he was tied to a tree and brutally flogged. The next day, he was whipped over the same open wound and with more impact.

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