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Causes of The Stono Revolt

Decent Essays

The morning of Sunday, September 9, 1939 went down in history because of the events that began. It was a day that marked the beginning of the largest slave rebellion in British North America. What was the name of this rebellion? It was the Stono Revolt. According to (……) twenty slaves (the exact number is unknown) attacked the Hutchenson’s near the Stono River, beheaded the storekeeper, seized weapons, and started matching towards Florida. This owes to the reality that freedom had been promised by Spanish at St. Augustine. More slaves joined the rebellion and killed almost twenty-five whites before a British militia quashed the rebellion. Historians like Hofer (2010) and Rodriguez (2007) have different explanations for the causes of this revolt. This paper analyzes two reasons for the Stono revolt by explaining how they are different, evaluating, describing, and interpreting the reasons. To begin with, Hofer (2010) argues that the main reason for the Stono was a promise from the Spanish King. The author asserts that the King of Spain had promised freedom and protection to all fugitive slaves. Consequently, slaves belonging to Captain Davies escaped to Augustine where they were received as promised. Other slaves belonging to Captain Macpherson ran away with an advantage of having knowledge of the terrain to Augustine. They too, were received with honor and praise. In fact, Shuler (2009) asserts that one of them was given a velvet coat. The news of warm reception of slaves (at

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