From Eric Foner's "Give Me Liberty!" (Seagull 5th Ed., Vol 1)

This lecture covers the topic, Slave Cultures and Slave Resistance, and the focus question here is, what factors led to distinct African American cultures in the 18th century?

Africans brought to the mainland colonies in the 18th century were very diverse, coming from different African cultures with different languages and religions.

For most of the 18th century, the majority of American slaves were born in Africa, and a truly African-American people with a cohesive culture shaped by African, European, and American influences emerged only very gradually through the common experience of slavery.

1 of the most difficult transitions for enslaved Africans was the forced change from traditional religions to that of Christianity, the dominant religion of their colonial captors.

While many of the forced migrants believed in a universal creator, the similarities between the various African religious practices seemed to resemble certain Native American communities more than Christianity.

While some enslaved individuals were familiar with Christianity and or Islam, most who ended up in British North America came from the more isolated forest regions of West Africa.

Even in the 18th century, many continued to practice traditional African religions or melded them with Protestant forms of Christianity or with Roman Catholicism depending on the dominant religion in the region of the Americas.

The 3 different slave systems in British North America produced distinct African-American cultures.

In the Chesapeake, a healthy climate led to the natural reproduction of the slave population, allowing for a balanced sex ratio that created family-centered slave communities.

Continuously exposed to white cultures, slaves here learned English and were influenced by religious revivalism.

In South Carolina and Georgia, the harsh rice plantations created a very different culture.

Their low birth rate led to continuous slave imports and since slaves seldom encountered whites and had more autonomy than those on other kinds of plantations, they were able to create a more African culture.

In the northern colonies where slaves were a small part of the population and dispersed as individuals or small groups throughout the white population, a distinctive African-American culture developed slowly.

Despite the differences between these African-American cultures, all were linked by the experience of slavery and hopes for freedom.

The most common form of slave resistance was to run away, and in some colonies, fugitive slaves found it easy to assume the identity of free black individuals.

The first occurred in New York in 1712 in which a group of slaves burned buildings, killed whites who arrived, and were later executed, some being tortured and burned alive as a warning to the city's slave population.

Imperial wars in the 1730s and 1740s opened the door for slave resistance in Louisiana and the West Indies.

In 1739, the War of Jenkins' Ear between England and Spain prompted a group of South Carolina slaves to seize arms at Stono.

They marched toward the safety of Spanish Florida which offered security to escaped British slaves, killing whites and shouting liberty as they went.

The Stono Rebellion was crushed by colonial militia and led to the tightening of South Carolina's slave laws.

And in 1741 in New York City, a panic induced by a series of fires led to rumors that slaves were planning to mount a rebellion with white allies and turn the city over to the Spanish.

More than 150 blacks and a few whites were arrested and 34 people, including 4 whites, were executed.


Speaker 0: This lecture covers the topic, Slave Cultures and Slave Resistance, and the focus question here is, what factors led to distinct African American cultures in the 18th century? Africans brought to the mainland colonies in the 18th century were very diverse, coming from different African cultures with different languages and religions. For most of the 18th century, the majority of American slaves were born in Africa, and a truly African-American people with a cohesive culture shaped by African, European, and American influences emerged only very gradually through the common experience of slavery. 1 of the most difficult transitions for enslaved Africans was the forced change from traditional religions to that of Christianity, the dominant religion of their colonial captors. While many of the forced migrants believed in a universal creator, the similarities between the various African religious practices seemed to resemble certain Native American communities more than Christianity.

While some enslaved individuals were familiar with Christianity and or Islam, most who ended up in British North America came from the more isolated forest regions of West Africa. Even in the 18th century, many continued to practice traditional African religions or melded them with Protestant forms of Christianity or with Roman Catholicism depending on the dominant religion in the region of the Americas. The 3 different slave systems in British North America produced distinct African-American cultures. In the Chesapeake, a healthy climate led to the natural reproduction of the slave population, allowing for a balanced sex ratio that created family-centered slave communities. Continuously exposed to white cultures, slaves here learned English and were influenced by religious revivalism.

In South Carolina and Georgia, the harsh rice plantations created a very different culture. Their low birth rate led to continuous slave imports and since slaves seldom encountered whites and had more autonomy than those on other kinds of plantations, they were able to create a more African culture. In the northern colonies where slaves were a small part of the population and dispersed as individuals or small groups throughout the white population, a distinctive African-American culture developed slowly. Despite the differences between these African-American cultures, all were linked by the experience of slavery and hopes for freedom. The most common form of slave resistance was to run away, and in some colonies, fugitive slaves found it easy to assume the identity of free black individuals.

Much less common were slave uprisings. The first occurred in New York in 1712 in which a group of slaves burned buildings, killed whites who arrived, and were later executed, some being tortured and burned alive as a warning to the city's slave population. Imperial wars in the 1730s and 1740s opened the door for slave resistance in Louisiana and the West Indies. In 1739, the War of Jenkins' Ear between England and Spain prompted a group of South Carolina slaves to seize arms at Stono. They marched toward the safety of Spanish Florida which offered security to escaped British slaves, killing whites and shouting liberty as they went.

The Stono Rebellion was crushed by colonial militia and led to the tightening of South Carolina's slave laws. And in 1741 in New York City, a panic induced by a series of fires led to rumors that slaves were planning to mount a rebellion with white allies and turn the city over to the Spanish. More than 150 blacks and a few whites were arrested and 34 people, including 4 whites, were executed.

See all Olen D Budke transcripts on Youtube

Chapter 4 Slave Cultures and Slave Resistance