Chapter 4

Eighteenth-Century
Slave Societies
From Slavery to Freedom
9
th
ed.
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2
Shipment of African slaves to
South Carolina, 1769
Eighteenth-Century Slave Societies
Eighteenth-Century Slave Societies
No single black slavery experience
African American experience influenced by:
Local conditions
Nationality of colonizer
Geographical location of outpost
Colonys demographics
Modes of economic production
Atlantic world market in slaves
Sex ratio
Geographical source of blacks themselves

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3
Eighteenth-Century Slave Societies
Two major eighteenth-century demographic
trends
First:
Majority of slaves direct from Africa
Men outnumbered women
Africans came from diverse ethnic groups
Second:
American-born slave population increased (Creoles)
Multi-racial population; familiar with different religions
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4
Eighteenth-Century Slave Societies
Cultural syncretism blending of African and
European cultures to create a new form
Varied from region to region
African people drew upon experience and
cultural patterns to escape bondage
Transformation of Africans into African
Americans differed by time, place, and freedom
strategies
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5
New England
Slave Populations
Fewer blacks than any other region, but blacks
important to regions eighteenth-century
commercial life
Slave Occupations
Put to work in skilled trades
Used increasingly in eighteenth century as
body servants

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6
New England
Negro Election Day
Festival tradition, public election of black
kings and governors
Evidence of cultural syncretism
Forged sense of community, secured obedience and
loyalty to masters
Concentration of blacks in few towns allowed for such
communal experiences


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7
New England
Cotton Mather and Inoculation
Idea of inoculation came to Cotton Mather from
his slave, Onesimus
Known as the African solution
Heated arguments over the African folk medical
practice
Mather and African informants proven correct
Acceptance or rejection of inoculation was difference between
life and death
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8
The Mid-Atlantic Colonies
New York Colony
Largest number of slaves in North throughout
eighteenth century
Pinkster traditional Dutch Pentecostal
celebration mixed with African and Creole
dancing, drums, banjos
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9
The Mid-Atlantic Colonies
Expansion of Slavery
Mid eighteenth century, non-elite whites began
to buy slaves, and options for manumission
disappear
Increase in grain production increases need for
slave labor
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10
The Mid-Atlantic Colonies
Pennsylvania Slavery
Pennsylvania Quakers debated morality of
slavery
Led to early manumission movement
Operated schools to educate black children

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11
The Chesapeake Region
African Outsiders
Difficult adjustment for non-English speaking
saltwater Africans
One quarter died within first year
Ran away in groups; caught by white troops
Population Growth
In 1720s Virginians began importing more
women to naturally increase slave population
During 18
th
century, Chesapeake blacks first
black population to grow by natural increase
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12
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13
Black Population Growth in
Virginia, 1700-1800
Insert Table: Black
Population Growth in
Virginia, 1700-1800
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14
African Immigration to Virginia
and South Carolina, 1700-1790
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
The Slave Population
Increase in African slaves paralleled significance
of rice as an export
African slaves taught masters about growing rice
As black majority grew, so did size of plantations
Due to malarial environment, import necessary
The Chesapeake and the Low Country
Distinctly different trends in slave work and
culture in the Souths two major slave systems


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15
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
Chesapeake
Slaves had varied work routine, worked in small units
Lots of interracial contact
Reciprocal cultural influences
South Carolina Lowcountry
Lived on large plantations with few whites present
Greater cultural autonomy
Task system
Lived on plantation units village communities
African religion, music, language, kinship patterns, and
naming practices influential in life and culture

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16
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17
A view of Kamalia in Africa and a view
of Mulberry Plantation in South Carolina
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
Rural and Urban Slave Life
Two types of black society in South Carolina
slave system: rural and urban
Urban slaves far more Anglo-assimilated
People of Mixed Race
South Carolina did not prohibit interracial sexual
conduct
Mulattoes overrepresented among skilled
laborers
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18
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
African Traditions
Belief in minkisi sacred medicine
Amulets control health and destiny
Root doctors
Caesar slave noted for antidotes to poison
The Stono Rebellion
Freedom and Catholic identity inspired revolt
Spanish offer of freedom to fugitive slaves professing
Catholicism
Fort Mose
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19
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
Menendez and Mose
Mose leader granted freedom for military service
In Mose, established families and adopted
Spanish practices such as godparenthood
The War of Jenkins Ear
Anglo-Spanish conflict over legitimacy of
British Georgia
Menendez defended Spanish, recaptured Mose
from British

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20
The Lower South, Eastern
Seaboard
The End of Mose
Free blacks did not return to war-ravaged fort
Ordered to leave St. Augustine and build frontier
village near original site
After Britains victory in French and Indian War,
Menendez and other Mose residents resettled in
Cuba
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21
The Lower Mississippi Valley
French Louisiana
Exercised significant cultural autonomy
Slaves directly from Africa, held by small
number of white masters
Africanized slave culture
African religious beliefs
Knowledge of poisons and antidotes
Black-Indian alliance formed at tobacco
settlement Natchez
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22
The Lower Mississippi Valley
Maroon Societies
Entire Creole families escaped
Built huts, stored weaponry
Farmed, hunted, fished
Engaged in trade
Juan Mal noted leader
Between 1782 and 1784, Spanish governor set
out to capture and destroy maroon villages
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23
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24
St. Malo
Maroon
communities,
1780s
Insert Map: St.
Malo Maroon
communities,
1780s