Stono Slave Rebellion (1739)
Wed Sep 09, 1739
Image: The Stono rebellion sign on a stretch of US Highway 17 in South Carolina. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt, via The Guardian
On this day in 1739, the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies began in South Carolina when 22 enslaved Africans looted a store at the Stono River Bridge, killing two storekeepers and seizing weapons and ammunition. In total, 25 colonists and 35 to 50 Africans were killed.
After seizing weapons and ammunition, the self-liberators marched south, to Spanish Florida, a well-known refuge for the enslaved.
As the group made their way south, they recruited others into their cause, burning plantations and killing white people as they went, approximately two dozen in total.
The rebellion was defeated when the group was confronted by a well-armed colonial militia. Around 50 slaves and 25 militiamen were killed in the fighting.
The Stono Rebellion was directly responsible for the “Negro Act of 1740”, which required a ratio of one white person to ten black on any plantation, also prohibiting slaves from growing their own food, assembling in groups, earning money, and learning to read.
- Date: 1739-09-09
- Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.blackpast.org, www.theguardian.com.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
Better to die fighting than to live as a slave.
I’ve never been a slave, but I’ve had a glimpse of this truth just in terms of my own experience with putting up with bullshit and how it’s affected me.
I’ve learned that physical discomfort is nothing compared to spiritual dis-ease in terms of the suffering it produces.
It seems that these people, when faced with the choice between risking death fighting, versus staying “safe” as slaves, went for the chance of freedom. Even though they died in battle, they died free.
Fucking amen. I hope we can all learn from their wisdom, and emulate their courage before we ever get close to the level of depredation and indignity they faced.
I’m not saying rampage and kill people. I am saying fight for what’s right rather than accept indignity in trade for comfort. Dignity is worth more than comfort or safety. I hope I can have the courage to express that hierarchy of values in my life, when the two come into conflict.
