The Stono Rebellion by Sydney Weinberg

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-20 19:45:18 UTC

                               The Stono Rebellion

Prior to the Revolt

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 17:04:26 UTC

The Stono Rebellion happened in 1739 in South Carolina. At this time, enslaved people made up about 65% of the population of this region. It is still unknown what exactly led up to the rebellion, however, the timing could have been related to a recent malaria epidemic in Charlestown. In addition, a new security law had recently been put in effect and this could have been a factor in the cause of the rebellion. This law required all white men to be armed at church on Sundays. Thus, the enslaved people knew that all of their owners would be away and therefore this was the best time for rebelling. The stono rebellion took place near the stono river, about 20 miles from Charleston, North Carolina. In order to attempt an escape, the runaway slaves needed a source of weaponry. Thus, they raided a firearms shop called Hutcheson's store near their meeting point, so this was an important factor for the location of the rebellion.

Important People

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 17:10:14 UTC

This rebellion was led by an enslaved man from Angola named Jemmy, who was kidnapped from his home and recently brought to America. He was a literate slave and was likely held by the Cato Family who were located on the Ashley River, just North of the Stono. The other 20 slaves recruited by Jemmy were Kongolese, and they were most likely former soldiers.

Connections

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 17:10:56 UTC

Sources

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 17:11:45 UTC

“Africans in America/Part 1/The Stono Rebellion.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p284.html.

Humanities, National. “Becoming American.” The British Atlantic Colonies. National humanities Center, September 2009. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/peoples/text4/stonorebellion.pdf.

Library, Americas. Stono's Rebellion, April 24, 2000. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_stono_2.html.

Smith, Mark M. “Stono Rebellion.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies, July 9, 2018. https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/stono-rebellion/.

“Stono Rebellion.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., September 2, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/event/Stono-rebellion.

Sutherland, Claudia. “Stono Rebellion (1739).” Welcome to Blackpast •, May 14, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/stono-rebellion-1739/.

Map of Stono River

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 20:05:16 UTC

The Jouney South

marklotito231 — 2020-10-21 20:07:41 UTC

The Journey and outcomes

marklotito231 — 2020-10-22 04:04:19 UTC

As they moved south they killed 20 white people, and more enslaved people joined them on the way. They ended up having around 60 people with them and working together to help towards success. Once the white community started finding out about this, they gathered together and went on a mission against the slaves. When the white community started to find out about this, they gathered and went on a mission against the slaves. By the night this mission started almost half were killed, and although the other half escaped they mostly got caught and killed after this, or they got sent to the West indies. Although it is unclear where they were actually planning on going, it is possible they were trying to get to St. Augustine, Florida, because the Spaniards there were offering freedom to slaves. Afterwards, this caused a Negro Act that limited slave's rights and privileges.

Colonization

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:33:53 UTC

Colonization and government actually had a major impact on the Stono Rebellion. In fact, the slaves actually attempted to use the government to their advantage. During this time period, Spain and England were at war, leading to a separation between British colonies and the Spanish. Given this, the spanish wanted to do anything to set off the British. They even promised freedom to runaway slaves if they could make it all the way down to St. Augustine, Florida. So all in all, the enslaved people attempted to use this colonial separation in order to gain their freedom. In addition, the colony of South Carolina had recently made a law, ordering white men to bring guns to church. The rebellion planners also used this to their advantage, because they knew that on sundays, the armed white men would all be away. But despite the efficient planning, the slaves did get caught and executed in the end. In addition, this rebellion led to more laws by the government, but these were to keep the slaves under control and prevent future runaway attempts. Following the rebellion, the colony of South Carolina more strictly enforced laws preventing slaves from things like learning how to read, learning how to write, growing their own food, earning their own money and especially assembling in private.

Race and Gender

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:36:03 UTC

In general, the role that women played in rebellions was always less known or even invisible to that of a man’s role. When we hear about the details of a rebellion, it’s much more common to hear a male’s name vs women. Now for this particular one, the Stono Rebellion, we actually see sources that prove women did take part in this. It is said that both men and women walked south. I think it’s very important to know that women took part in tremendous events like these because this was not the truth for white women in america. See, at the time, white women weren’t even given the right to vote. In fact, it took almost two more centuries just to gain this basic right. In addition, women didn’t take part in any law enforcement, governing, or most basic jobs that we participate in today. So contrary to white women, enslaved african american women actually did take part in tasks and even rebellions.

Economy

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:37:07 UTC

The Stono Rebellion did in fact affect the economy. When the slaves attempted their escape along the Stono river, they were approached by loads of plantation owners and government officials trying to stop them. The people fighting against them ended up identifying the leader and organizer of the rebellion, an African man named Jemmy. When word got out that the organizer was an african man, this led to economic changes. These officials and plantation owners decided that it is dangerous to have their slaves from Africa, and they need them to be American born or in better words, African American. And since officials were already trying to better control slaves, they made some new changes, too. This resulted in banning the slave trade from africa in the mid 18th century for a small amount of time. They did this only to ensure that their slaves would no longer try to revolt, even though this was not the case. Because the plantation economy deeply relied on enslaved people, they ended up reopening the slave trade through South Carolina shortly after.

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:50:30 UTC

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:51:48 UTC

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:52:33 UTC

Depictions of Stono Rebellion

sydneyweinberg231 — 2020-10-22 18:54:27 UTC