Wealth and Slavery in Carolina

Plantation Economy Staple Crops- Rice and Indigo Rice –In 1685 seed Rice was given to Dr. Woodward by a ship captain from Madagascar –Many began to grow rice and by 1705 profit rose above that from Native American trade –Slaves showed colonists how to grow rice in wet soil –Rice fields had to be flooded and drained, cut and dried, threshed, hulled, and fanned –All done by hand

Plantation Economy Indigo –Eliza Lucas Pinckney managed the family plantations while her father was in Antigua –Father sent indigo seeds –Took 3 years to grow successful crop –Plant was soaked in water and dye was extracted –Pinckney shared her knowledge with other planters –By 1747, Carolina produced 140,000 pounds of indigo

Trade with Native Americans Governor Joseph West supported Native American slave trade The Lords Proprietors were against it because they were making money off of deerskin trading with the Native Americans 1682-Proprietors removed West from office Trade with Native Americans became a huge source of profit Deerskins were stockpiled in warehouses in Charles Town

Mercantilism Goal: increase wealth by importing more goods than exporting 1 st Navigation Act: goods from colonies could only be shipped on English ships with English crews, rice and indigo could only be sold to England 2 nd Navigation Act: Goods sold in America from other nations had to be shipped on English ships 3 rd Navigation Act: required governors to enforce regulations more carefully

International Slave Trade European companies bought slaves from local tribes or traders in West Africa Sent across Middle Passage: unchained once a day for exercise and food Landed in West Indies and “seasoned” Slaves were unloaded on Sullivan’s Island and checked for diseases Then sold at auction in Charles Town 1700-several thousand 1770-more than 80,000 (total population was around 130,000)

Origins first slaves were brought from Barbados Brought to SC from the Gambia River area of Africa (West Africa) also brought from the Congo region

Beginning of Slavery in Carolina 1670-at least one slave was on board the Carolina Many more soon arrived through slave trade Performed hard labor that created settlement of Charles Towne -built homes, planted and harvested crops, cooked, cleaned, raised cattle 1670s-African slaves were nearly one-third of the population

Slavery's impact on the Carolina Economy colony able to develop a cattle industry because of the knowledge and experience of slaves in raising cattle slaves provided knowledge, strength, and labor to produce products from the pine forests slaves provided the knowledge and labor to cultivate rice and indigo slaves worked on plantations making it very profitable for planters

Rice and Indigo Two main staple crops African slaves knew how to grow rice because that had grown rice in West Africa Labor intensive Rice could only be grown in the coastal plain Indigo could be grown anywhere in SC Eliza Lucas Pinckney: shared her knowledge of indigo with other SC planters Through Native American trade, rice, and indigo crops, Carolina grew richer at a faster rate than any other part of the British empire