1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm de bling a chalk reboarding. 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: And not too long ago we talked about this really 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: amazing one thousand mile Escaped to Freedom by Ellen and 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: William Kraft, and it took place in it was It 7 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: involved cool disguises and really close calls and um, surprisingly 8 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: luxurious accommodations. Um. But one important thing to note about 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: it is that it took place at the tail end 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: of slavery in North America. And this time for this episode, 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: we're gonna go way way back to a time when 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: slavery was really changing and kind of, in my opinion 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: at least, kind of becoming more of what we think 14 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: of when we think of slavery, what we might have 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: learned in elementary school or high school. That period of 16 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: slavery between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Yeah, 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: it was really evolving in this particular time period that 18 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about, and it was when whites 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: were becoming very uneasy about their growing minority status, especially 20 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 1: as slave uprisings were becoming more common, and the particular 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: instance that we're gonna talk about today, the Stoner Rebellion. 22 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: It was likely the most important of these pre American 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: Revolution uprisings. It was unsuccessful, but it was really bloody expensive, 24 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: and it really directly affected a lot of laws regarding 25 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: slavery in South Carolina at that time. Yeah, yet it's 26 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: scared people. It's scared the white people in South Carolina 27 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: a lot, and it made them enact legislation like you mentioned. 28 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: But um also just sort of changed their outlook on 29 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: slavery and how they thought about it. Um. And according 30 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: to unsp Rodriguez, who compiled the Encyclopedia Slave Resistance and Rebellion, 31 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: this two of all lume set of like every slave 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: rebellion and instance of resistance you can think of. He wrote, quote, 33 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: the stone O Rebellion had important consequences on the development 34 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,519 Speaker 1: of slavery and what would become the United States, and briefly, 35 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: in September seventeen thirty nine, the future of slavery hung 36 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: in the balance. So I think that gives you a 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: pretty good sense of how significant this event, this rebellion was, 38 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: And um, yeah, it took place in seventeen thirty nine, 39 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: the morning of September nine, which was a Sunday. Yeah, 40 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: So just to set it up a little bit for 41 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: you here, the initial rebellion, it involved twenty African slaves 42 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: and they were led by a fairly recent arrival to 43 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: the colonies named Jemmy, who started the whole thing off 44 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: by breaking into a store on stone Oh River Bridge, 45 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: which was about twenty miles southwest of Charleston. And during 46 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: this break in, he killed the owner of the store, 47 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: Robert Bathurst, and his associate Mr Gibbs, or some of 48 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: the rebels did. Some of the rebels did correct, and 49 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: he placed their decapitated heads on the stores front porch. So, yeah, 50 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: pretty serious message they're sending there. Wasn't just kind of 51 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: a random act or theft. They did steal some guns 52 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: at the time, but I think that the heads on 53 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: the poles really sent the message. Definitely sends a strong message. 54 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: And and from there they started marching down the main 55 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: Southern road. And Okay, this is probably the first part 56 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: that's really caught you off guard. Maybe the decapitated heads 57 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: did it, but the Southern road that doesn't seem to 58 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: add up to how we normally think about slaves trying 59 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: to escape to freedom, but they were in fact bound 60 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: towards Georgia, which is exactly ironically exactly where the crafts 61 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: were fleeing from. So it seems the rebels plan was 62 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: to get to this growing maroon establishment that was in St. Augustine, Florida, 63 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: which of course at the time was in Spanish control, 64 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: and they were going to get there by way of 65 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: the Georgia coastline. But once they got the guns, they 66 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: didn't exactly hurry on their way down the coast. Quite 67 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: the contrary, they stopped and attacked stores and homes and 68 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: plantations and sort of raised their numbers too. More and 69 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: more slaves rebels are just people thinking they might be successful, 70 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: and they'd try to get out of town with them. 71 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: Joined up with the band. Yeah, they pretty much wreaked 72 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: havoc on along this journey of theirs. They spared a 73 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: few white people that they encountered, but a lot of 74 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: times when they met someone on the road, they would 75 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: just kind of take them out. So a lot of 76 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: the people who were spared were people who are kind 77 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: to slaves. So for example, an owner of the inn 78 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: who had known to be so was spared along the way. 79 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: Others were not though others were not a Mr. Godfrey 80 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: and his son and daughter, they were killed I think 81 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: in their homes, right, Yeah, And um, a lot of 82 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: slaves were joining up too. So um, it's not just 83 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: that they're coming into houses and and killing people, but 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: the slaves are are fleeing their plantations and homes and 85 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: joining this van. Um. But the occasionals they've did stop 86 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: and fight the band or try to protect his or 87 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: her own master. There are a few instances of that 88 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about later, um, but one really 89 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: close running and I think one that really shook up 90 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: the South Carolinians later was that the Lieutenant Governor himself, 91 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,799 Speaker 1: Lawrence Bull, had a very close call with the band 92 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: of rebels. He was nearly killed. Fortunately for him, I 93 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: guess he was on horseback and so he managed to escape. 94 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: But at that point he went on to seund the 95 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: alarm in nearby Grandville County. But meanwhile the group was 96 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: moving south. They were slowly progressing on towards their goal. Right, 97 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 1: so by the time they were at Jacksonburg Ferry on 98 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: Edisto River, there were about sixty two hundred of them, 99 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: but they didn't cross the river and just continue on 100 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,359 Speaker 1: they stopped to dance and sing. That's probably the second 101 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: part that's really he made you take pause. And historians 102 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: have wondered why they did this, where they just too 103 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: tired to continue or something. Yeah, and it's been suggested 104 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: maybe they had um imbibed quite a bit by this 105 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: point and just wanted to stop in party, or maybe 106 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: there was another suggestion by the historian William Thornton that 107 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: dancing was a crucial wartime exercise, and we're going to 108 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: talk about that a little more later too, But it 109 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: was it was just something you would do. It was, 110 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: it was non negotiable. But stopping by the river to 111 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: dance and sing ended up being the band of slaves 112 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: undoing because the militia caught up with them during the 113 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: delay and attacked them in the open field. The rebels 114 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: were able to get off two volleys, but finally the 115 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: militia returned fire killed fourteen of them, and after that 116 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: the main rebel group that was left just scattered, and 117 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: probably about forty of them. It's it's hard to say, 118 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: just because things were dealt with so haphazardly on the field, 119 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: but probably about forty were captured, questioned and then immediately 120 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: killed and their decapitated heads were put on the mile 121 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: posts going towards Charleston to to send a message to 122 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: other would be rebels. So contemporary accounts of this event 123 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: say that this was sort of the end of it, 124 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: but that's not really the case. Some of the rebels 125 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: did reform and they continued traveling south, but they were 126 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: intercepted on the tenth, which was the next day, by 127 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: mounted troops. Others of them kept on going and a 128 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: second skirmish took place about a week later, and that 129 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: was thirty miles from the first battle at Jackson Urra Ferry. 130 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: After that a bunch of rebels dispersed again and they 131 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: were pretty much tracked down one by one. Yeah, but 132 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: some managed to stay in the field for a really 133 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,239 Speaker 1: long time. I mean as late as December. That's when 134 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: one of the rebel leaders was apparently caught, uh not Jimmy. 135 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: People to don't know what happened to him, interestingly enough, 136 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: But all in all, if you get all the way 137 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: to December, about twenty whites were killed, probably about sixty 138 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: five Africans and African Americans. As we mentioned, because things 139 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: were so haphazard and the executions just sort of happened 140 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: on the field, there aren't really good records about it. 141 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: Plus we should note that there's only one primary source 142 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: for this story and then a few secondary accounts that 143 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: are contemporary to the story. So, uh, the information is 144 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: pretty patchy on something on an event that is so important. 145 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: So the question that we really have to ask ourselves though, 146 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: is why did the slaves revolt? And some of those 147 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: reasons are going to be pretty obvious here, as we 148 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: will find out in a minute. But it was a 149 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: question that was asked immediately after the revolt by the 150 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: white people involved to the white people in South Carolina, 151 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: and interestingly, they were not inclined to blame their own 152 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: cruelties so much as they were inclined to blame Spanish propaganda. 153 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: There was a great fear at this time because of 154 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: Spanish British tensions, that Spanish agents were lurking around and 155 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: um convincing slaves that they could flee to Florida and 156 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: and be free in these maroon colonies. So this was 157 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: a legitimate fear of plantation owners and slave owners at 158 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 1: the time. Yeah, and historians still debate about this a 159 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: lot too, about the kind of the reasons behind this 160 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: revolt and a couple of things they debate about our 161 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: whether the Stone oh rebels were actually more influenced by 162 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: the terrible conditions they faced in South Carolina, or whether 163 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: it had a lot more to do with the skills 164 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: and the experiences that they had pre enslavement when they 165 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 1: were living in Africa. And we're going to talk about 166 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: both because I think we both kind of agree that 167 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: there's really no reason why the tour can be have 168 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 1: to be mutually exclusive. I guess I should say, yeah, 169 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,959 Speaker 1: I think so. I mean, I see no reason why 170 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: somebody wouldn't be influenced by his current conditions as well 171 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: as what he had known before he became a slave. 172 00:09:57,679 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: Um or you can have some mix. It's a rebellion 173 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: and there are lots of different people involved. But before 174 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: we get into all of that, and I guess to 175 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: sort of help explain some of the reasons why you 176 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: might be inclined to rebel being a South Carolinian slave, 177 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: I'm going to give you a little history of slavery 178 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 1: in South Carolina and the early To understand it, you 179 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,359 Speaker 1: have to understand that the early settlers in the Carolina 180 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: Colony were bent on making money, they wanted to make 181 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: lots and lots of money in a really good way 182 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: to do that to set up a plantation system, in 183 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 1: this case, a plantation system based on rice cultivation. And 184 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: because a lot of the colonies earliest settlers came by 185 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: way of the West Indies, they had already seen what 186 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: a slave run plantation system looked like, which looked very 187 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 1: different from from some of the earlier American colonies right. 188 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: And their first slaves were actually Native Americans who are 189 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: purchased by Indian traders who would sell the losers of 190 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: intertribal wars that were going on. But after the Yamasi 191 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: War of seventeen fifteen, many of these tribes left the 192 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: Low country and that created a labor vacuum from the 193 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: plantation owners. So there was a marked increase in an 194 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: importation of slaves from Africa, specifically a lot of slaves 195 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: from the West region of Africa, where rice cultivation already thrived, 196 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: so they were familiar with that. They figured they had 197 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: an existing specialty already. So it doesn't take long, just 198 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: a few decades and South Carolina becomes one of the 199 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: wealthiest North American colonies. But there's a little issue here, 200 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: and that's the rice cultivation requires a lot of workers. 201 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: That's why they wanted to import slaves in the first 202 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: place for cheap labor. But it didn't take that long 203 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,439 Speaker 1: for blacks to outnumber whites or to to get pretty 204 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: close to it. One example, here, in seventeen forty there 205 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: were thirty nine thousand blacks in South Carolina, probably fifty 206 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: percent of which had arrived from Africa in the past decade. 207 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: So it's not just um a racial imbalance at this 208 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: point that the white South Carolinians are fearing. It's that 209 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: it's a racial imbalance not with African Americans and whites, 210 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: but with Africans and whites, right, And this set up 211 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,679 Speaker 1: sort of an interesting dichotomy, I guess, in their relationship. 212 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: According to Perry L. Kyles, who wrote an article for 213 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: the Journal of African American History about the issue, all 214 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: white people had to kind of buy into this collective identity, 215 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 1: so to speak, which subjugated slaves, and it created a 216 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: particularly harsh slave system which had already been made worse 217 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: by climate and disease in the area ice cultivation and 218 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: any terrible thing to be doing so you weren't English 219 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: or Scotch. At this point, you were just white, yeah, 220 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: which is something that stands out, I'd say, in in 221 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: this time, certainly well before the American Revolution, and this distinction, 222 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:00,200 Speaker 1: this you you aren't from wherever your European ancestry is them, 223 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: You're just white, was kind of illustrated in legislation of 224 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: the time too. In seventeen thirty seven, South Carolina's Assembly 225 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: passed the Patrol Act, which required all white males to 226 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,559 Speaker 1: police slaves, and then in January sev thirty nine they 227 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: passed the Security Act, which went a step further and 228 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: required that all white males armed themselves on Sunday, which 229 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:26,440 Speaker 1: we should not. Sunday was a day when slaves were 230 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: granted a little more freedom to do work for themselves, 231 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: you know, do their own farming, try to save up 232 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: some money or something, and could move around a bit more. 233 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: So it's thought necessary, I gotta keep your guns on 234 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: you in church on Sunday. Uh. The big fear, though, 235 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 1: was not just the slaves and not just this racial imbalance, 236 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: but that the Spanish were lurking around and might lure 237 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: slaves the way and promised them freedom. And it was 238 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,959 Speaker 1: potentially a legitimate concern because in seventeen twenty three slaves 239 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,319 Speaker 1: had escaped and made it all the way to St. Augustine. 240 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: But the fears of Spanish influence were only part of it. 241 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: There's also the customs and experiences that some of the 242 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: Stono rebels brought from Africa, which would have allowed the 243 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: Spanish to be so influential in the first place, and 244 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: there are some reasons for that. So I don't know, Sarah, 245 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: I think maybe can you set this part up a 246 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: little bit. Yeah. I read an article by John kay 247 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: Thornton in American Historical Review, and it's interesting because it's 248 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: actually referenced in a lot of other places. But he 249 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: has an argument that the Stono Rebels, at least some 250 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: of them, maybe some of the leaders especially, were definitely 251 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: influenced by experiences in customs from Africa. And one of 252 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: his points is that many of the rebels were probably 253 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: recent arrivals, and they weren't recent rivals from Angola, which 254 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: is what the surviving primary source tells us, but instead 255 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: from Congo. It gets a little confusing because I think 256 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: the area where they're from is Angola today. But that's 257 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: beside the point. Another issue that he mentions is because 258 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: the former Kingdom of Congo had voluntarily converted to Christianity 259 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: back in four so a really long time before this, 260 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: most of its people were Roman Catholic, so there might 261 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: have been some issues there Christians sort of resenting the 262 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: fact that they're enslaved by other Christians, and um, maybe 263 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: a little affinity with the Roman Catholic Spanish too. And 264 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: a third point is that there was potentially some language 265 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: in common because a lot of people from Congo, or 266 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:37,239 Speaker 1: at least some people from Congo, would have understood Portuguese 267 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: because Portuguese was in fact the language that dominated trade 268 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: there and was taught in schools for the upper classes. Um, 269 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: if some of these slaves did have familiarity with Portuguese, 270 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: they might have been able to understand some of the 271 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: Spanish they heard and some of the stories they heard 272 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: about freedom in Florida. And then finally, this wasn't a 273 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: potential motivator, but more are like a possible explanation for things. Wait, 274 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: the way things went down was a small band of 275 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: rebels supposedly handled firearms very well. What this meant was 276 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: that while the expertise could have been picked up in 277 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: the colonies, it's very likely that it could have come 278 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: from experience and fighting in Congolese militia. Yeah, there were 279 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: quite a lot of civil wars in Congo in the 280 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 1: decades before this, and it's possible that some of the 281 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: slaves who participated in this rebellion were at one point 282 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: the on the losing side of of battles back in Congo. 283 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: But they had some militia experience. They knew how to 284 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: carry a gun. They used flags and drums, and this 285 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: also helps explain the rebels using banners and drums and 286 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: and dancing and dancing these You know, it's it's circumstantial, 287 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 1: but I think it's an interesting thing to look at, 288 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: especially when there is so little written written record here 289 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: to to consider these things. But whatever the reasons for rebelling, 290 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 1: once the slaves did rebel, they were they were marked. 291 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: I mean, they were done for because to the white 292 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: South Carolinians success, the success of the slaves could have 293 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: meant like further revolts. It could have meant this spreading 294 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: throughout the colonies and up ending the entire slave system. 295 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 1: I mean that might be going a little far. But 296 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,159 Speaker 1: they had to shut this down. They knew it was 297 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: a huge, huge threat to the way of life that 298 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,119 Speaker 1: was making them so wealthy. So they didn't just hunt 299 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: the rebels down all the way through the month of December, 300 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 1: but they passed laws that further subjugated blacks in South Carolina. 301 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,920 Speaker 1: So even though they didn't have a lot of rights 302 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: to start out with, and you would think it would 303 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: be impossible to kind of further reduce those, they they 304 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: did just that. And it was partly the aftermath that 305 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: made Rodriguez call the Stonor Rebellion the single most important 306 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: African slave revolt in the history of what would become 307 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,119 Speaker 1: the United States. And I should just know this guy 308 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: has written or edited a lot of books on slavery, 309 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: including this whole encyclopedia, So I feel like that's a 310 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: pretty strong statement. Yeah, it's saying something if he says 311 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: that it was a major revolt. Um a few examples 312 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,680 Speaker 1: of things that they did. In November seventeen thirty nine, 313 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: the General Assembly decided to strengthen the Patrol Act of 314 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: seventeen thirty seven, which meant that militia would now be 315 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: in charge of the patrols instead of just the slave 316 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: owners every white man. And then in May of seventeen forty, 317 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: the Assembly passed the Negro Act, and it wasn't like 318 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: the South Carolina slaves, as we mentioned, had a lot 319 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,880 Speaker 1: of freedom to start out with, but now they were 320 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: not allowed to grow their own food, they couldn't assemble 321 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,120 Speaker 1: in groups, they were not allowed to earn their own money, 322 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,439 Speaker 1: they were not allowed to learn to read, and just 323 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: really reinforce the existing slave code. So policies that had 324 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: been in place before, restrictions that they had had, they 325 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: really enforced them now. I think in the beginning we 326 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: talked about how it was evolving a little bit, and 327 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: before there some restricts in place that they just were 328 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: a little bit slack about. I guess they were there, 329 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,479 Speaker 1: but not everyone observed them. You could, you could enforce. 330 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: A master could enforce the restrictions as he's soft fit. 331 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,720 Speaker 1: I guess that's the point. To make up the previous 332 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: slave code had been built up piecemeal over decades and decades. 333 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: At this point, suddenly there are universal laws about how 334 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: you're supposed to to to treat your slaves. But it 335 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: wasn't just changes to the slave code though. The Assembly 336 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,640 Speaker 1: also decided that the slave population needed to be less 337 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:40,879 Speaker 1: African and more African American um because it seemed like 338 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: the recent imports were more prone to rebellion, at least 339 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: at least from their personal experience. So in April seventeen 340 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: forty they passed a duty bill which levied attacks of 341 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: a hundred pounds per head on slaves entering after July 342 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: seventeen forty one. But a really interest thing about this bill. 343 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't just set up to discourage importing slaves from Africa. 344 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: The plan was to use all of the money for 345 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: the tax to fund this account that would ultimately draw 346 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: poor white Protestants to South Carolina. So you would really 347 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,399 Speaker 1: change your ratio. You're you're importing fewer slaves and then 348 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: bringing more white people to South Carolina. I think it's 349 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: very bizarre. But not all the changes were based in 350 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: legislation either. Some of them were just the way people 351 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: thought about handling their slaves and and dealing with these 352 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,679 Speaker 1: huge communities that lived right outside their door. Yeah, they 353 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 1: made these attempts to kind of fracture the slave community, 354 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: so they would reward informers. For example, you could tell 355 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 1: on somebody, and that was seen as something good to 356 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: do to your master. For example, thirty slaves were rewarded 357 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: for their loyalty during the rebellion. One in particular, named July, 358 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: he was actually freed. Yeah. Most of them, though, didn't 359 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: get rewards that were quite on that level. Um, there's 360 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: a there's a document you can read about. I guess 361 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: the other thirty or at least a few of them 362 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,360 Speaker 1: just getting suits of clothes and new shoes and stuff, 363 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: and that was like the big reward for not participating 364 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,400 Speaker 1: or saving their master's lives. Makes me wonder what July did. 365 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: But we'll get free. But I guess till I just 366 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: got lucky because it sounds like the other ones did 367 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 1: pretty much the same thing. But um, it's interesting though 368 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: you think all of these these changes would have a 369 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: long term effect on how planters related to slavery, you know, 370 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 1: like maybe they would swear off imported slaves for a 371 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: long time if they really thought that this was a 372 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: serious problem. But it doesn't take long at all for 373 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: them to go back to importing slaves again. It increased 374 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: after seventeen forty four, and by the American Revolution, the 375 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: black population in South Carolina was almost double the white population, 376 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 1: which I think is an astounding statistic and clearly shows 377 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: that they were the white planners were definitely more interested 378 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: in making money than these perceived security threats. Things were 379 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 1: a little different though, with the passing of the Negro Act, 380 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: more slaves started to take up means of passive, less 381 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: obvious resistance. So actions that for a lot of us, 382 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 1: I think are more familiar. They characterized the next hundred 383 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: years or so of slavery in America, and I think 384 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: they're probably what more like what we associate with today. 385 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,440 Speaker 1: Like I mentioned when we were just starting out this episode, 386 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: but the things you learn about in your high school 387 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: history class, the slowdowns, poisoning, UM, breaking equipment, that sort 388 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: of thing, uh, sort of war what we associate with 389 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,240 Speaker 1: slavery between the Revolution and the Civil War. But I 390 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:57,199 Speaker 1: think it's interesting that this rebellion might have played a 391 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: little part in establishing that system UM, that that we're 392 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: more familiar with. Yeah, it's a kind of a grim tale, 393 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: but one that's necessary if you want to understand kind 394 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: of the whole history of labor, story of slavery. Definitely, 395 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: UM And I think because it is so grim, it 396 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:22,640 Speaker 1: brings us to a slightly happier listener. Meal. So this 397 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: message is from Tia in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and she wrote, 398 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,399 Speaker 1: I just finished listening to your podcast on the Crafts 399 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: Escaped to Freedom, and I couldn't help but be awe struck. 400 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: It made me want to learn a little bit more 401 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: about the couple, and after some initial digging, I read 402 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: that on their flight from Boston to England, they first 403 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: came through Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I live. They traveled 404 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: by land to Halifax and then by sea to England. 405 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: As a proud Hallegonian, perhaps I'm exactly sure how you 406 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: folks pronounced that. Gonna go with Hallegonian, though, it was 407 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: very happy to see that our city played a small 408 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 1: part in this amazing story. Although not totally surprised as 409 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: a major report at the time, Halifax, Nova Scotia and 410 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: the Maritimes in general often played an important part in 411 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: many slaves escape to freedom, so that was interesting. We 412 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 1: we actually did run into the fact that they escaped 413 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: through Halifax. Didn't get into all the details about how 414 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: they got to England, but um, it's definitely worth sharing 415 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: with you guys, and and thank you for sharing it 416 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,440 Speaker 1: so dicinctly with us. Heia. She also suggested that if 417 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: we want to do a little more Canadian history, as 418 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: we always come back to Canadian history. Um. She suggests 419 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: the Halifax explosion of nineteen seventeen, which I think the 420 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,719 Speaker 1: anniversary of that came up not too long ago. Um. 421 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:48,880 Speaker 1: We follow the Nova Scotia Archives on Twitter and they 422 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,720 Speaker 1: put together a pretty interesting exhibit on the explosion that 423 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: we were checking out not too long ago. To check 424 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,959 Speaker 1: that out too. Yeah, but you can follow us on 425 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: Twitter if you want to send us messages and stuff. 426 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 1: We're at Missed in History. UM. We're also on Facebook 427 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: and you can send us your emails and comments UM 428 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 1: at history podcast at how stuff works dot com. And 429 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: if you want to learn a little bit more about 430 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: a topic that came along a little later in black history, 431 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,920 Speaker 1: you can check out an article called how the Emancipation 432 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: Proclamation worked on our website by visiting our homepage at 433 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:31,919 Speaker 1: www dot how stuff works dot com. We're more on 434 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Visit how stuff works 435 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 1: dot com to learn more about the podcast, click on 436 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: the podcast icon in the upper right corner of our homepage. 437 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: The How Stuff Works iPhone up has a ride. Download 438 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: it today on iTunes.