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Title: Colonial South Carolina: A History by Robert M. Weir ISBN: 1-57003-189-4 Publisher: University of South Carolina Press Pub. Date: October, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Palmettos, Planters, and Patriots---a detailed history
Comment: Sometimes it happens that you read a book for a different reason from the one which made the author write it. In that case, when writing a critique, you must be very careful not to fault the author for not "living up to" your requirements. That is the case here. For many years, I have been intrigued by the question, "Why are states like South Carolina so different from my own state of Massachusetts when they were settled largely by people from the same country at around the same time?" I never did much about finding the answer, but some time ago I did buy this book. I have only just read it. OK, so it wasn't such a burning question ! But that is what impelled me to undertake to read COLONIAL SOUTH CAROLINA and I'm glad I did.
Weir's clearly-written history provides a detailed look at the colony, which began to emerge in the 1630s under the rule of proprietors who brought in colonists. He gives background on Spanish and French incursions and battles over the area, as well as on the various Indian peoples, who might not have been as numerous as those to the south or west. Weir's main interest, however, is political and legal---in the growth of laws, political institutions, and people in government---and how these led eventually to rebellion against Britain. For an amateur, these sections get rather detailed. I was interested in almost everything else---the relationship with the Indians, the economy (naval stores, rice, indigo), slavery, social classes, and their standards of living. Because of his focus, he begins with political developments instead of with economics and the society, which I feel is a mistake. In his way, amateurs like me can hardly grasp the motives or the players in the political game until we reach subsequent chapters.
If I have not found my answer (and maybe there is no definite answer), I got a lot of valuable things to think about. Though South Carolina was founded more for economic interests than as a refuge for a persecuted minority (like Massachusetts), both Huguenots and English dissenters played a major role in the state. There is not a clear difference there. Perhaps the tenor of life differed. Weir notes, "Not everyone in South Carolina during the early years was a scoundrel though some...suspected that was the case." (p.61) There was, however, a large contingent of adventurers, connections to pirates, and some mighty loose living. South Carolina did not develop towns with self-governing traditions, nor was there much government at the county level. Instead, large tracts were granted to individuals, and words like "barony" and "seignory" were mentioned in laws. A more feudal atmosphere then, culminating in the "Margravate of Azilia" a feudal style buffer state that was nearly founded in the wild territory between South Carolina and Spanish Florida (now mostly Georgia). Unlike New England, South Carolina suffered constant raids by the Spanish and French, a war with pirates, wars with powerful Indian tribes several times in the 18th century, hurricanes, a huge fire in the capital, and yellow fever. Despite all this, secret ballot and religious freedom flourished, the colonial government---once the proprietary relationship ended in 1719---was not less progressive than others. However, what distinguished the two regions most of all was the extent of slavery. For most of its colonial history, blacks were a majority in South Carolina. The fear of uprisings and the terror used to control the slaves set the tone of life in this, the richest of the 13 colonies. Any disunity among whites could have been fatal, thus an inordinately large amount of central control. Weir also discusses the sectional division between lowland planters and upland small farmers; the composition of white society; and questions of social stability. All these things aided me immensely in trying to answer my question.
In addition, readers will find a great amount of fascinating information in this book---how to make tar and pitch, South Carolina style---the use of indigo as currency during the Revolution---the importation of the original rice seeds from Madagascar (was it the pirate connection ?)---the development of black cowboys whose work patterns appeared over a century later in the oft-glorified West and a lot more. COLONIAL SOUTH CAROLINA is indispensable for anyone who wants an overall picture of this colony, whose history is often ignored in favor of Virginia, New York or Massachusetts. I believe, though, that I must read Judith Carney's "Black Rice" (2001) and Michael Stephen Hindus' "Prison and Plantation" (1980) for a more complete answer to my own question.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good reading for a colonial vacation
Comment: I acquired this book while on vacation at Kiawah Island, SC. If you fancy yourself an amateur historian, this is the book for you. Prof. Weir provides a detailed review of the formation of South Carolina and its growth from proprietary colony to royal colony to free state. He blends social, economic and political history with fascinating tidbits about the geography around you. It is a little heavy on the political aspects, however, and sometimes my mind glazed over with governor-this and who owned what. But all in all, I quite enjoyed reading it as I toured the area. One of the most interesting parts was the extensive information he included about the interactions between the colonists and the native American populations which they ultimately destroyed or enslaved.
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Title: South Carolina: A History by Walter B. Edgar ISBN: 1570032556 Publisher: University of South Carolina Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution by Walter B. Edgar ISBN: 0380977605 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 23 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic by John E. Ferling ISBN: 0195159241 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas by John Buchanan ISBN: 0471327166 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner ISBN: 0316286168 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 22 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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