In his book, Black Majority, Peter H. Wood does a great job of documenting the rise of slavery in South Carolina from as early as 1670 with the settlement of the English in South Carolina to the Stono Rebellion of 1739. As the title of his novel states, Wood's main focus is on the rising population of Negroes in colonial South Carolina that quickly results in a black majority. His novel is very specific and goes into an enormous amount of detail on exactly how and when the population of African Americans came to surpass that of Europeans in South Carolina. In order to do this, he focuses on three main ideas: the general preference of African slaves over European or Indian slaves, the already acquired skills (livestock and rice) of Africans, and their immunity to malaria and yellow fever.
According to the European immigrants to South Carolina, there was always three options for slavery: Native Americans, poor white indentured servants, or Africans. Each of which has their benefits and drawbacks. Native Americans had extensive knowledge of the land, were easily accessible because they did not need to be imported, and cheap. However, Native Americans were not quite ideal because since they knew the land so well they could easily escape and find their way back home. Besides the obvious language barrier, another downside to using Native Americans as slaves was that they died relatively quickly making them not quite worth the investment. White labor force was appealing because there were few differences in custom, religion, and language making things easier in general. On the other hand, indentured servitude was not the best option because of their varying terms of service. They only worked as long as necessary, for example long enough to pay off their passage to the New World. Settlers "complained of the 'servants that dayley become free"(Wood, 41). White laborers also tended to be lethargic and lazy which are two traits that masters never want their servants to have. The final option for labor were Africans. Although there is the language barrier that needed to be worked with, African labor seemed to be the most attractive form of labor. They "could be held for unlimited terms, and there was no means by which word of harsh or arbitrary treatment could reach their homelands"(Wood, 43). The greatest drawback to African labor is the chance that they would try to escape once they heard of their unlimited term. However this wasn't too much of a concern because it was impossible for them to run away to their home across the Atlantic.Also their unfamiliarity with the land deterred many from running away. As soon as these advantages to African labor became apparent to English settlers, they began importing more and more, well on their way to creating a black majority.
As the English settled in South Carolina, they had to create a successful market in order to trade with other countries so they could obtain adequate provisions. Settlers were in search of some staple product and the "readies market were found in the raising of livestock" (Wood, 28). Because there was such an abundant supply of land, livestock grazed freely and multiplied at unexpected rates. Englishmen had never been around a practice like this before, therefore they were confused and unsure of what to do. Luckily, many of the African laborers "had experience in tending large herds" because "such animals were common across much of the western region" (Wood, 30). In search of another bigger staple product, Englishmen in South Carolina were determined to produce rice.
Although it took a while for progress to be made with this new product, it began to thrive in the early 18th century. The only problem with rice was that Englishmen were not familiar with rice planting. However, the African slaves proved to be extremely useful yet again. West Africa was an area that was very successful in the sowing of rice. There was even an area along the Coast named the Rice Coast because rice was so plentiful here. Black immigrants from these areas of Africa "were more familiar with the planting, hoeing, processing, and cooking of rice than were the European settlers who purchased them" (Wood, 61). Needless to say, without the help of African slaves, setters in South Carolina would not have been able to be nearly as successful with these staple products. As their slaves were successful with these staples, they made their masters more and more of a profit, allowing them to buy even more slaves, therefore increasing the population of Africans in South Carolina.
Diseases in the lowlands of South Carolina were a major problem for English settlers. After the year 1680, people began feeling extremely ill with a chills, a high fever, and headache. The population of Englishmen in South Carolina began to decrease as people removed their families from this area in fear of getting sick. Englishmen also began to realize that the worst times for the illnesses were summer and fall, so they "developed a common routine of removing their families to Newport, Rhode Island, during that portion of the year" (Wood, 73). It was finally discovered that these illnesses attacking settlers were Malaria and Yellow Fever. Word of these diseases began to spread and deterred Europeans to migrate there. As Englishmen were getting sick and dying from these illnesses, they became increasingly aware that "sickness often seized the master and spared the slave" (Wood, 80). They were resistant to these diseases and could withstand working in the lowlands without becoming ill. Because Englishmen were leaving the colony and dying because of this disease, "the white population fo South Carolina may even have declined slightly" (Wood, 69).
Towards the end of his book, Wood goes on to explain how this increasing black majority threatened the white settlers in South Carolina creating tension. Englishmen felt more and more threatened as the African slaves learned specialized tasks and became more involved in the economy. In order to suppress their slaves, they applied numerous restrictions through absurd slave acts that even specifically detailed the types of clothing slaves were allowed to wear. These restrictions oppressed slaves to such a degree that they began to resist. They ran away, stole from their masters, poisoned their masters, set fire to houses and barns, and conspired. All this led to the Stono Rebellion in 1739,
Wood's novel is unique in that it truly shows that African slaves were imperative to the survival of the economy of South Carolina. He also shows how Africans didn't just migrate to the New World and conform to their masters liking. They brought a taste of their culture to the colonies and were even brave enough to rebel. Throughout the text, there are many instances were the importance of slaves to the colonies economy is mentioned. They were the middle man of anything business-related. They were craftsmen, fishermen, bricklayers, household servants, militiamen, guides, and the list goes on. They literally were the backbone to the
financial system of South Carolina.
Wood's novel also does a great job of showing the reader that African slaves brought much of their culture with them to the New World and as a result, greatly influenced the English settlers. This can be seen in the techniques the slaves used for the cultivation of rice, for example the use of the mortar-and-pestle. They also brought their fishing techniques of "poisoning the stream to catch fish" and "go[ing] naked into the Water, with a Knife in their Hand, and fight[ing] the Shark, and very commonly kill[ing] him" (Wood, 122-123). African slaves retained part of their culture in everyday life by commonly "naming children after the day of the week on which they were born [in] the seven African day-names" (Wood, 181). In order to learn more about African's bringing their culture to the New World, I would strongly suggest viewing the movie The Language You Cry In. A brief synopsis of the film can be read at: http://newsreel.ord/nav/title.asp?tc=CNOO53
The main point that one should take away from Wood's novel is that through rising to the majority, playing a key role in the economy, and staying true to themselves and their culture, African slaves in South Carolina came "closer to the edge of upheaval than historians have been willing to concede" (Wood, 326).
Slavery in South Carolina was very different than slavery in other colonies. If one would like to expand their knowledge of slavery outside that of South Carolina which Wood focuses on in his novel, I suggest visiting this website.
Wood also talks about the slave trade, but never goes into the horrors of it all. In order to better understand the feelings and mindset of slaves as they entered the colonies, one should visit this website.
Works Cited:
Wood, Peter H. Black Majority. New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1974. "Rice Cultivation in British East Florida ." Florida History Online . 19 Nov. 2008 |
USGenNet. 2007. Indian Land Cessions in the American Southeast . 19 Nov. 2008 |
Rogers , George C. The Journal of Southern History 41.2 (1975): 246-248.
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Slavery in Massachusetts . eserver. 19 Nov. 2008 |
