SLAVERY in the British Colonies + Rebellion of Slaves 2.6

South Atlantic System

increased transportation good, developed economy

Stono Rebellion - South Carolina - 1739

Enslaved Jemmy led a group of enslaved men stole weapons from a store, then kill the white owners. They marched along the Stono river and more enslaved men joined them burning plantations to the ground and killing more white folks

• Grown about 50 strong when the white militia overtook them

• Resulted in South Carolina passing a new slave code in 1740 - imposed new limits of enslaved people’s behaviors

Middle Passage

captive Africans were packed into the holes of ships so densely that there was no room to breathe

• ½ million died

What was the main reason as to the demand for enslaved laborers from Africa?

Increased demands for colonial agricultural goods and shortage of indentured servants

Harsh Slave Laws → Virginia followed barbados, enacted Colonial Slave Laws:

• Legally defined African laborers as chattel

• Slavery was made a perpetual institution that was passed from one generation to the next

• These laws became harsher and harsher

  • In late 17th century Virginian plantation owners were granted legal right to kill their enslaved laborers if they defied authority

  • 1680 a law was added to make it illegal for any black person to have weapons and leave the plantation without formal persmission

Slave Resistance: Covert Resistance:

• Practice cultural customs from homeland

• Maintained belief systems

• Spoke native languages

• Kept naming practices form home

• Slowed the pace of work by breaking tools and damagin crops