Stono Rebellion

The Stono Rebellion (sometimes called Cato's Conspiracy or Cato's Rebellion) was a slave rebellion begun on Sunday, September 9, 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies prior to the American Revolution. One of the earliest known organized rebellions in the present United States, it was led by native Africans who were Catholic and likely from the kingdom of Kongo, and some of whom spoke Portuguese. Jemmy (referred to in some reports as "Cato") was a literate slave who led 20 other enslaved Kongolese, who may have been former soldiers, in an armed march south from the Stono River (for which the rebellion is named). They recruited nearly 60 other slaves and killed 22–25 whites before being intercepted by a South Carolina militia near the Edisto River. In that battle, 20 whites and 44 slaves were killed, and the rebellion was suppressed. A group of slaves escaped and traveled another 30 miles before battling a week later with a militia; most of the slaves were executed; a few survived to be sold to the West Indies.

In response, the South Carolina legislature passed the Negro Act of 1740 restricting slave assembly, education and movement. It also enacted a 10-year moratorium against importing African slaves, and established penalties against slaveholders' harsh treatment of slaves. It required legislative approval for manumissions, which slaveholders had previously been able to arrange privately.

Causes

Local factors

By this time, the majority of the population of the South Carolina colony were slaves, as importation had increased in recent decades. Most of the slaves were native Africans; many had served time in the West Indies before being brought to South Carolina. Several factors may have convinced the slaves that a rebellion at that time might lead to freedom. Accounts of slaves' gaining freedom by escaping to Spanish-controlled Florida gave the Carolina slaves hope; the Spanish had issued a proclamation and had agents spread the word about giving freedom and land to slaves who got to Florida; and tensions between England and Spain made slaves hope for a positive reception in St. Augustine. In addition, a malaria epidemic had killed many in Charleston, weakening the power of slaveholders. Lastly, historians have suggested the slaves organized their revolt to take place on Sunday, when planters would be occupied in church. The Security Act of 1739 (which required all white males to carry arms even to church on Sundays) had been passed in August, and penalties were supposed to begin after September 29.

African background

Jemmy, the leader of the revolt, was a literate slave described in an eyewitness account as "Angolan"; because of patterns of trade, he was more likely from the Kongo Empire in Central Africa. His cohort of 20 slaves were also called "Angolan", and likely also Kongolese. The slaves were described as Catholic, with some speaking Portuguese. The patterns of trade and the fact that the Kongo was a Catholic nation point to their origin there. The kingdom of the Kongo had voluntarily converted to Catholicism in 1491; by the 18th century, the religion was a fundamental part of its citizens' identity. The nation had independent relations with Rome.

Portuguese was the language of trade as well as the second language of educated people in Kongo. Speaking Portuguese allowed the slaves in South Carolina to be more aware of offers of freedom by Spanish agents. They would have been attracted to the freedom of Catholic religion in Florida. Because Kongo had been undergoing civil wars, more people had been captured and sold into slavery in recent years, among them trained soldiers. It is likely that Jemmy and his rebel cohort were such military men, as they fought hard against the militia when they were caught, and were able to kill 20 of the militia.

The events of the revolt

On Sunday, September 9, 1739, Jemmy gathered 20 enslaved Africans near the Stono River, twenty miles southwest of Charleston. This date was important to them as the celebration of the Virgin Mary's nativity; like the religious symbols they used, this combined their Catholic past with present purpose. They marched down the roadway with a banner that read "Liberty!", and chanted the same word in unison. They attacked Hutchenson's store at the Stono River Bridge, killing two storekeepers and seizing weapons and ammunition.

Raising a flag, the slaves proceeded south toward Spanish Florida, a well-known refuge for escapees. On the way, they gathered more recruits, sometimes reluctant ones, for a total of 80. They burned seven plantations and killed 20–25 whites along the way. South Carolina's Lieutenant Governor William Bull and four of his friends came across the group while on horseback. They left to warn other slaveholders. Rallying a militia of planters and slaveholders, the men went back to find Jemmy and his followers.

The next day, the well-armed and mounted militia, numbering 20–100 men, caught up with the group of 80 slaves at the Edisto River. In the ensuing confrontation, 20 whites and 44 slaves were killed. While the slaves lost, they took proportionately more whites with them than was the case in later rebellions. The heads of the rebels were mounted on stakes along major roadways to serve as warning for others who might consider revolt. The lieutenant governor hired Chickasaw and Catawba Indians and other slaves to track down and capture slaves who escaped from the battle. A group of the slaves who escaped fought a pitched battle with a militia a week later; they had traveled nearly 30 miles from the first site of conflict. Most of the rebellious slaves were executed; others were sold off to the West Indies.

Aftermath

Over the next two years, there were separate slave uprisings in Georgia and South Carolina, perhaps inspired, as colonial officials believed, by the Stono Rebellion. Conditions of slavery were sufficient cause. Planters decided they had to develop a slave population that was native-born, believing they were more content. Attributing the rebellion to the presence of Africans, they decided to cut off the supply and enacted a 10-year moratorium on slave importation through Charleston. After they opened it up again, they imported slaves from areas other than the Congo-Angolan region.

In addition, the legislature passed the Negro Act of 1740 to tighten controls: it required a ratio of one white to ten blacks on any plantation. Further, it prohibited slaves from growing their own food, assembling in groups, earning money, or learning to read. In the uncertain world of the colony, several of the law's provisions were based on the assumption that whites could effectively judge black character; for instance, whites were empowered to examine blacks who were out without passes, and to take action. The legislature worked to reduce the causes for rebellion: establishing penalties for masters who demanded excessive work or who brutally punished slaves (these provisions were difficult to enforce, as the law did not allow slave testimony against whites.) They also started a school to teach slaves Christian doctrine. At the same time, the legislature tried to prevent slaves from being freed and required its permission for manumissions, formerly arranged privately.

This likely reduced the chances that planters would free the mixed-race children born of their (or their sons') liaisons with enslaved women, as they did not want to subject their sexual lives to public scrutiny. Of course such relationships continued. By 1860 the 200 students at Wilberforce University in Ohio, established for blacks, were mostly mixed-race children whose tuition was paid by their wealthy southern planter fathers.

Now named Stono River Slave Rebellion Site, the Hutchinson's warehouse site where the revolt began was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. A South Carolina Historical Marker has also been erected at the site.

Further reading

• Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2006. ISBN 0313332711.
• Shuler, Jack. "Calling Out Liberty: The Stono Rebellion and the Universal Struggle for Human Rights." Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2009. ISBN 9781604732733
• Smith, Mark M., Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave Revolt, Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. ISBN 1570036055.
• Wood, Peter. Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion. New York: Norton, 1975. ISBN 0393007774.