Colonial, Economic: The Stono Rebellion
Slave rebellions were an important aspect of slavery from the arrival of the first Africans in America in the 1600s.
One such rebellion occurred in 1739, along the StonoRiver in South Carolina. There, a slave named Jemmy organized a rebellion against the plantation owners. Jemmy and the others hoped to create an armed movement of slaves southward to Florida in an attempt to gain freedom (slaves believed that moving to the Spanish-controlled Florida territory would give them freedom from their English-owned plantations). The group of twenty slaves which started the rebellion grew into a group of a few hundred as they progressed southward from the River, stopping to fight against plantation owners and state government officials. Though a militia of plantation owners eventually defeated the uprising before the rebels could achieve their freedom, the Stono rebellion nonetheless showed that slaves would actively seek their freedom and organize in groups to achieve their goals by any way the believed would work.
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Stono Inlet, South Carolina From a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A. D. Bache, Superintendent of the survey of the coast of the United States. Triangulation, topography and hydrography by the parties under the direction of C. O. Boutelle, Assist., Coast Survey. Drawn by E. Willenbucher. Chas. G. Krebs, lith.
Willenbucher, Eugene.
CREATED/PUBLISHED
[Washington, U.S. Coast Survey], 1862.
NOTES
Scale 1:20,000.
Reference: LC Civil War Maps (2nd ed.), 389.4
Preliminary edition.
"The triangulation was executed in 1852; the topography and hydrography were executed in 1862."
General chart showing soundings and bottom contours.
Includes sailing directions.
Listed as no. 118 in the Catalogue of Hydrographic Maps, Charts, and Sketches, Published by the United StatesCoast Survey (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1866)
Description derived from published bibliography.
SUBJECTS
Stono River (S.C.)--Maps.
United States--South Carolina--Stono River.
RELATED NAMES
United States Coast Survey.
MEDIUM
1 map, 50 x 54 cm.
CALL NUMBER
G3912.S8 1862 .W5 CW 389.4
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.20540-4650
DIGITAL ID
g3912s cw0389400
This abolitionist text from the 1860s describes various slave rebellions in the 1730s, including the one along the Stono. The text shows that slave rebellions were quite common, and despite their low rate of success, they remained a defining aspect of the slave experience.
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An Account of Some of the Principal Slave Insurrections . . . .
Coffin, Joshua, 1792-1864.
CREATED/PUBLISHED
New York, The American anti-slavery society, 1860.
SUBJECTS
Slave insurrections--United States.
MEDIUM
36 p.
PART OF
African American Odyssey
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Washington, D.C.20540
DIGITAL ID
rbcmiscody0119
RELATED DIGITAL ITEMS
(Sabotaging The Peculiar Institution)
After identifying the leader of the Stono rebellion, Jemmy, the South Carolina authorities sought to increase their control over slavery. Because Jemmy was African-born, slaveowners believed they needed a population of American-born African slaves. This led them to ban the slave trade from Africa for a short time in the mid-18th century.
However, the economic necessity of the plantation economy prompted the slave trade to resume throughout South Carolina and the United States. This newspaper advertisement from the 1780s announces the arrival of a new shipment of enslaved Africans into South Carolina.
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To be sold, on board the ship BanceIsland, ... negroes, just arrived from the Windward & RiceCoast.
CREATED/PUBLISHED
[between 1940 and 1960]
SUMMARY
Photograph of newspaper advertisement from the 1780s(?) for the sale of slaves at Ashley Ferry outside of Charleston, South Carolina.
NOTES
Title transcribed from item.
SUBJECTS
Slave trade--South Carolina--1780-1790.
Periodical illustrations--1780-1790--Reproductions--1940-1960.
Advertisements--1780-1790.
Woodcuts--1780-1790--Reproductions--1940-1960.
Photographic prints--1940-1960.
MEDIUM
1 photographic print.
CALL NUMBER
LOT 4422-A-1
REPRODUCTION NUMBER
LC-USZ62-10293 DLC (b&w film copy neg.)
PART OF
African American Odyssey
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.20540USA
DIGITAL ID
(b&w film copy neg.) cph 3a52072
RELATED DIGITAL ITEMS
(Humans For Sale)
As slavery continued, so too did rebellions against it. Though the slave rebellions from the 1600s and 1700s failed to upset the social order in America, they did inspire future generations to continue the struggle for freedom. Seen in this image, slave-led insurrections continued throughout the 1800s and were frequently sensationalized in the press. Slaves’ attempts at rebellion were met with strong opposition and led to extreme forms of punishment, with slaveowners often executing rebellious slaves.
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CALL NUMBER:Illus. in F232.S7 W2 [Rare Book RR]
REPRODUCTION NUMBER:LC-USZ62-38902 (b&w film copy neg.)
LC-USZ62-33451 (b&w film copy neg.)
SUMMARY:Composite of scenes of Nat Turner's rebellion.
MEDIUM:1 print : woodcut.
CREATED/PUBLISHED:[1831]
NOTES:
Illus. in: Authentic and impartial narrative of the tragical scene which was witnessed in SouthamptonCounty. [New York], 1831.
Reference copy in: LOT 4422-A-3.
SUBJECTS:
Turner, Nat, 1800?-1831.
Southampton Insurrection, 1831.
Slave rebellions--Virginia--Southampton County--1830-1840.
Massacres--Virginia--Southampton County--1830-1840.
Slavery--Virginia--Southampton County--1830-1840.
FORMAT:
Book illustrations 1830-1840.
Woodcuts 1830-1840.
REPOSITORY:Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division Washington, D.C.20540USA
DIGITAL ID:(b&w film copy neg. LC-USZ62-38902) cph 3a39248
(b&w film copy neg. LC-USZ62-33451) cph 3a33960
VIDEO FRAME ID:LCPP003A-39248 (from b&w film copy neg. LC-USZ62-38902)
LCPP003A-33960 (from b&w film copy neg. LC-USZ62-33451)
CARD #:98510363