africans in early sc 8 1.4

Africans in Early SC8-1.4: Explain the significance of enslaved and free Africans in the developing culture & economy of the South and South Carolina, including the growth of the slave trade and resulting population imbalance between African and European settlers; African contributions to agricultural development; and resistance to slavery, including the Stono Rebellion & subsequent laws to control slaves.

Plantation System• SC’s economy was

based largely on the plantation system

• Most crops were very labor intensive

• Indentured servants in VA were the first to do this type of labor in the colonies

• By the time of SC’s settlement new settlers no longer took these contracts

• Plantation owners tried to use the natives as a labor force, but they easily escaped & the males were not accustomed to cultivating the land like their female counterparts

Slave Trade• English settlers from Barbados brought the

first African slaves to SC• More slaves were acquired through the

“Middle Passage”- define

Slave Trade• Slaves brought their knowledge of land

cultivation, tending cattle, & cultivating rice from Africa

• They also knew how to harvest the thick forest near the plantations, which were used for trade

• Development of cash crops & the plantation system caused the increase of the slave trade in SC

• Large scale importation of slaves to SC began in the 1630’s

Slave Culture• Slaves brought their culture directly from

West Africa (language, dance, woodcarving, folk medicine, & basket weaving)

• They sang call & response songs as they worked Video (8:12)

• They used drums to keep the pace while working the fields & to communicate with other slaves on nearby plantations (until they were banned after the Stono Rebellion)

Slave Culture• Yams (or sweet potatoes) became the staple

diet for southern slaves

Gullah• Gullah was the spoken language & shared

culture of Africans that developed in the Sea Islands off the coast of SC and Georgia.

• Gullah language is the mixture of many spoken languages combined with newly created words

• Gullah is unique to the coastal region because of the area’s geographical seclusion & the large concentration of Africans there

Gullah Story Video

Worry over slave population

• 1698, the Assembly began to have

concerns about the number of slaves• The demand for more slaves to keep SC’s economy

booming created an imbalance in the population• Slaves outnumbered whites in most areas• This raised concern over the ability to control the

slave population

Stono Rebellion- A slave revolt near Charles Town,

increased this concern• A small group of slaves wanted to escape to

St Augustine, FL. where the Spanish had told them they would be free

• Broke into a store on the Stono River & killed two white settlers

• Used their drums to call more slaves to join them

• By day’s end, many settlers & slaves had been killed

Stono Rebellion• Video: Stono Rebellion

Result of Stono Rebellion• Slave Codes (originally from Barbados)

were strengthen [Negro Act of 1740]• Prohbited slaves from:

• Gathering without white supervision• Learning to read or write• Carry guns or weapons• Harsher punishments to disobedient slaves• & fined cruel slave owners for slave abuse Mostly ment to control minute by minute of slave

life EX: Slaves were not allowed to dress “above the

conditions of a slave”.

South Carolina Slaves• SC had fewer free Africans than most other

colonies • State legislature allowed owners to free, or

manumit, their slaves for good cause in the early 1700’s• In owners last will & testaments for faithful

service• Or their mistresses and their children • ***this was rare though because slaves were so

valuable

South Carolina Slaves• Some slaves bought their freedom by

making money on the side using special talents

• Free blacks were required by law to leave SC within 6 months or be re-enslaved and sold on the auction block

• Free blacks lived in urban areas where they could make a living using their talents

• After the American Revolution restrictions on the rights of owners to free their slaves were further legislated