Masters, Slaves, & Subjects: The Culture of Power in the South Carolina Low Country, 1740-1790

Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written account of colonial SC's culture.
Review: Robert Olwell, a recognized authority on the early history of South Carolina, has written a fresh account of that colony's cultural development. Focusing on the tension between the cultural standards emanating from the English metropole and the slave society that developed on the shores of a strange continent, Olwell provides an intriguing perspective on the formation of colonial power relations. Olwell begins his study with an overview of South Carolina's history from the Stono slave uprising in 1739 through the Revolutionary period. Subsequent chapters explore, in turn, the legal system, the Anglican church, the market economy, the plantation household, and the revolution against English authority. Olwell eases the reader into his sophisticated analysis by opening each chapter with anecdotes emphasizing the human and personal element of history. A talented writer, the author manages to present his incredibly thorough research without numbing the reader to the compelling drama of this period. In short, this book should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of South Carolina, the history of slavery in colonial America, and the relationship between the colonial American elite and the English and African cultures that spawned South Carolina's society in the New World.

Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written account of colonial SC's culture.
Review: Robert Olwell, a recognized authority on the early history of South Carolina, has written a fresh account of that colony's cultural development. Focusing on the tension between the cultural standards emanating from the English metropole and the slave society that developed on the shores of a strange continent, Olwell provides an intriguing perspective on the formation of colonial power relations. Olwell begins his study with an overview of South Carolina's history from the Stono slave uprising in 1739 through the Revolutionary period. Subsequent chapters explore, in turn, the legal system, the Anglican church, the market economy, the plantation household, and the revolution against English authority. Olwell eases the reader into his sophisticated analysis by opening each chapter with anecdotes emphasizing the human and personal element of history. A talented writer, the author manages to present his incredibly thorough research without numbing the reader to the compelling drama of this period. In short, this book should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of South Carolina, the history of slavery in colonial America, and the relationship between the colonial American elite and the English and African cultures that spawned South Carolina's society in the New World.