Learn about the economics and hardships of slavery in South Carolina
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A coffle of slaves is being marched through town by an overseer. From "Slavery in South Carolina," 1862. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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The slave trade continued in South Carolina until the constitutionally set limit of 1808. The "middle passage" for slaves from Africa to the New World was full of hazards. Many slaves did not survive...
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The city of Charleston in 1742 was a bustling port town of 6,800, the fourth largest city in British North America. Half of its population were African-American slaves. They were the labor on which...
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David Drake was an enslaved African American in Edgefield, South Carolina during the first three quarters of the nineteenth century. He’s known today for the magnificent quality of the pots he made...
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February is African American History Month. Some may ask “Why celebrate African American history...isn’t that American history?” Absolutely, but unfortunately, for hundreds of years, much of the...
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Abolitionist Sarah Grimké was born into a wealthy slaveholding Charleston family in 1792. After experiencing the injustices of slavery firsthand, she became a noted speaker for the antislavery...
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Born a slave, Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom and became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. As a conductor, she helped over 300 slaves find their own freedom. After the Civil War, she cared...
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African Americans, both free and enslaved, served in the American and British armies as armed troops and as laborers known as "pioneers." In many places, slaves were offered freedom if they agreed to...
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In the community of Brattonsville, Martha Bratton sent a message to warn her husband, Colonel William Bratton, that Captain Christian Huck was on his way. Bratton was on the other side of the Catawba...
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On the evening of May 12, 1862, the captain and officers of the Planter left the ship to spend the night on the shore. Robert and the rest of the slave crew had to stay on board under captain's orders...
