The burning of Eve in Virginia

In1746, in Orange County in central Virginia, a female slave named Eve was burned at the stake, by order of the Orange County Court, for poisoning to death with a glass of milk her owner, Peter Montague. While reports are murky, it appears this is one of only a few judicially legal burnings officially recorded in American history (not including extralegal burnings of slave for revolting in the north or those committed during lynching in the early 20th century). During the 1610 starving times in Jamestown, an English Gentleman reported that he killed and cannibalized his wife to keep from starving to death. As a Gentleman, he felt entitled to do so. But allegedly his wife’s un-eaten body was discovered, and Campbell’s History of Virginia reports he was burned at the stake. This account, however, cannot be verified. <a href="https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-burning-of-eve-in-virginia-9a78a6876ba8">Learn More</a>