Primary Sources Of The Stono Rebellion

Primary sources are eminent for historians to discover events that occurred in the past, without such sources of information, there would be no knowledge of an incident. Some events can have many sources describing exactly what occurred, which is celebrated by historians as this gives a fuller picture of the past. However, some events have only one written surviving source- one such event is the Stono Rebellion. Therefore, historians are reliant on this source for all the information of the revolt, but it has still created controversy due to numerous reasons, such as the identity of the author, and the exact date. Both controversies will be explored later in this commentary. The source which will be unpicked is the "only one eyewitness account

This is portrayed in the document as it places the Stono Rebellion in the "context of imperial tensions" (Smith, 2005). The document begins with mentioning the "Proclamation published at Augustine, in which the King of Spain (then at Peace with Great Britain) promised Protection and Freedom to all Negroes Slaves that would resort thither." (Chandler, 1913) It continues with the implications of this proclamation, mentioning in detail the Stono Rebellion, finally ending with responsive acts passed by the colony of Georgia, to "prevent any Negroes from getting down to the Spaniards." (Chandler,

Such evidence of this is that Woods and Smith have established an explanation on why the slaves chose 9th September to revolt, based on knowledge of wider contextual occurrences. In mid-August, a newspaper published a notice of a "Security Act which required all white men to carry firearms to church on Sunday or submit to a stiff fine, beginning on September 29" (Smith 2001). Sunday was the day off for most slaves, and it was on this day that the fears of rebellion were greatly increased in the minds of landowners (Thornton, 1991). This ripe condition for rebellion was due to slave owners going to church and being away from the plantation, and the slaves were given an opportunity to meet and form a community. Woods (1975) researched that in August and September 1739, a yellow fever epidemic swept through Charlestown, killing six people, and "... may have been a factor in the timing of the Stono Rebellion." Finally, Smith (2001), used the awareness of the Kongolese Christian religion, to conclude that Saturday, September 8, 1739, was the day of Nativity of the Virgin, an important religious icon. Another factor to the rebellion comes from the primary source. The source mentions that the King of Spain issued a proclamation that all negros would find protection and freedom in Augustine (Chandler, 1913). The rebels were shouting “Liberty”, meaning that they believed the Spanish would