On Sunday morning, September 9, 1739, on the Stono River southwest of Charleston, Province of South Carolina, one of the Thirteen Colonies, a group of about 20 slaves broke into a gun shop, killed the owner, and took the weapons there. Armed, and chanting “Liberty,” they began marching south, picking up recruits (some voluntary and some impressed), and killing the white families they encountered along the way. They were bound for Spanish Florida.

In 1739, the Spanish Monarchy and United Kingdom of Great Britain were at war. In order to weaken the British colonies, Spain promised freedom to the slaves of any British masters who rebelled, came into Spanish territory, converted to Catholicism, and agreed to serve in the militia for four years. Word of the Spanish offer made its way into the slave communities of South Carolina and seems to have been a principal motivation for the revolt. Rumors of a Spanish invasion increased after King Charles II of Spain granted freedom to runaway Black slaves in 1733.

The uprising was led by a literate enslaved black man named Jemmy (also known in some traditional accounts as Cato). By the time they reached the Edisto River, about 10 miles from where the rebellion began, the band of insurgents had grown to nearly 100. But much to Jemmy/Cato’s dismay and disgust, many of the men had gotten drunk on rum taken from the homes they pillaged along the way, and at the river, perhaps believing the local white population had been subdued, the group stopped to dance and sing. It was a fatal mistake.

South Carolina Lieutenant Governor William Bull had been riding along the road that morning when he encountered Jemmy/Cato and his followers. Bull managed to escape and sound the alarm. The local militia quickly mustered and attacked. Many of the rebels scattered and fled, but over 40 held their ground and fought back, before being overwhelmed, captured, and hanged. Those who had escaped were tracked down, and if found to have joined the revolt voluntarily, were executed. When it was all over, 21 white people and 44 black people had been killed.

In the aftermath of the rebellion, the General Assembly of South Carolina passed the Negro Act of 1740, imposing a moratorium on importing new slaves (because they attributed the rebellion to African-born slaves), further restricting what slaves were permitted to do in their free time, For example, it prohibited them from growing their own food, earning money, assembling in groups, learning to write (though reading was not proscribed), or traveling without permission. It allowed slave owners and patrols to murder with impunity those they considered "rebels," establishing total control. The law legally classified enslaved Black people as chattel (movable property) and not as human beings, perpetuating lifelong slavery through the mother, The law mandated the creation of white patrols to monitor and control the lives of the Black population. The law remained in effect until 1865.

Aside from that, the Province of South Carolina also sought to improve the conditions that had provoked the rebellion. Finally, South Carolina sought to diminish the influence of St. Augustine in Spanish Florida as a constant source of incitement for two reasons: 

\- The first was that in 1693, King Charles II of Spain ordered, by Royal Decree, the liberation of all fugitive slaves from the British colonies who arrived in Florida, men, women or children, provided they embraced the Catholic faith. 

\- The second reason was that in 1738, the Spanish Crown founded Fort Mose (its official name is *«Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mosé»*), its construction was decreed by the then Spanish governor of Florida, Manuel de Montiano, and it is considered the first legally recognized settlement of free Black people in what is now the United States of America, which may have stimulated new potential slave rebellions in the British colonies which could stimulate new potential slave rebellions in the British colonies to escape to Spanish Florida.

For this reasons, the war against the Spanish curbed that stimulant. The white minority also attempted to correct the numerical racial imbalance. A prohibitive tariff on new slave imports reduced the import rate from 1,000 per year in 1730 to 100 per year in 1740. The tariffs collected were used to recruit white immigrants. The law required one white man for every ten Black men on a plantation. Fines for this violation were used to fund additional patrols.

Stono's Rebellion is significant in American history, as it prompted South Carolina to enact some of the harshest slavery codes in the colonies and intensified existing racial and social dynamics.

**Jemmy's background:**

Jemmy, the leader of the revolt, was a literate slave, described in an eyewitness account as "Angolan." American historian John K. Thornton has noted that he likely came from the Kingdom of Kongo, as did the group of 20 slaves who joined him. The slaves were Catholic, and some spoke Portuguese, which points to their Congolese origins. A long-standing trade relationship with the Portuguese had facilitated the adoption of Catholicism and the learning of the Portuguese language in the kingdom. Leaders of the Kingdom of Kongo converted voluntarily in 1491, followed by their people; by the 18th century, religion was a central part of its citizens' identity. The nation maintained independent relations with Rome. Slavery was present in the region and was regulated by the Kongo. 

Portuguese was the language of trade, as well as one of the languages ​​of the educated people of Kongo. The Portuguese-speaking slaves in South Carolina likely learned of the offers of freedom from Spanish agents. They were also drawn to the Catholicism of Spanish Florida. By the early 18th century, the Congo had been embroiled in civil wars, leading to the capture and sale of more people into slavery, including trained soldiers. Jemmy and his rebel cohort were likely soldiers of this type, as they fought fiercely against the militia when captured and managed to kill 20 men.

The Stono Rebellion began on September 9, 1739 in the Province of South Carolina, one of the Thirteen Colonies in North America.