The Introduction of Rice: King of the Lowcountry
As with many major historical events, there are different stories as to the cause of rice cultivation in the South Carolina. The story of the introduction of two of the main types of rice grown in South Carolina that appears to have the most credibility is told by James Glen. Red rice supposedly came from a ship from Madagascar that had a small amount of extra rice seed. The Captain offered this seed to Dr. Henry Woodward, a physician who was among the first "professional" settlers in South Carolina, and he grew a good crop from this. South Carolina was the only English mainland colony at the time with a subtropical climate, and this was ideally suited for rice production. However, Woodward was unaware how to clean the rice, and it was not until experiments were performed were performed by other planters that the crop was perfected to what Governor Glen (and many others) believed was the finest value rice in the world. The other kind of rice, called white rice, was reported by Governor Glen to have been introduced shortly after the introduction of red rice. A man named Du Bois, treasurer of the East India Company sent a bag of white rice seed to South Carolina. This was also grown successfully. Both events are believed to have occurred sometime around 1685. In any event, rice production began and increased quickly in the colony. The increase was aided by Peter Guerard's invention of an engine for husking rice (removing the outer layer) for which he was given an award by the colony's Assembly. Soon, rice was declared to be a commodity that could be used to pay debts and taxes. So much rice was being produced that not enough ships could be found to export all of the crop.
This rapid increase in the production of rice presented a serious problem. There was simply not enough labor to do all the work that rice required. Endentured servants and Indians proved to be poor supplies as the servants contracts would soon expire and the Indians were a poor slave force with little knowledge about rice. The solution was to import Africans by the thousands to work in the rice fields. They were a strong labor force, did not have contracts, and had little incentive to run away to the wilderness as the Indians often would. Also, some had knowledge about proper rice cultivation from their days in Africa. This was very helpful because while the English had successfully grown dry rice in Virginia, they had little knowledge about the higher quality rice in South Carolina that was grown in water. South Carolina began to import many African slaves from Barbardos. There is a correlation between the rapid growth of the number of slaves imported and the increase in the amount of rice produced, and many historians believe that it was the knowledge of the Africans about rice that made the crop into the staple of the South Carolina economy. This importation did cause fear among the settlers, though. By 1698, the Assembly became concerned that the great number of slaves in the colony could endanger its safety. While this was a valid concern, the profits were to be made were too great. Soon the slaves outnumbered the whites in the colony, a trend that would continue for many years. To find out more about slaves and slave life, click here.
Despite this problem and the initial lack of ships to export all the rice produced, the production of the crop increased from about 330 tons in 1700 to 1800 tons in 1713 to an average of almost 10000 tons per year during the 1730s. Unlike indigo, which was primarily exported to Great Britain, the major markets for rice at the time were Holland, Germany, and Portugal. Britain was an important consumer, but exports never reached the level they did in these other countries. The end of the Revolution later hurt the indigo crop, but the rice crop was relieved of one of the costs of exporting. This caused profits to rise, and the state exported even more rice. Planters moved further up the rivers, and more and more plantations began to spring up inland from Charleston. Later in the century, the planters would move up the coast to the wilderness north of Charleston. Here they would find many rivers and fertile grounds that grew even higher quality rice than was grown in the Charleston area.
Sources of information are Glen, pg. 95-103, McCrady, 267, 388, Wood pg. 135-155, Littlefield, pg. 98-100, and Leland, pg. 9-10.
Front Gates / Table of Contents / Introduction of Rice / Rise of the Rice Plantations / Planters / Slaves / Georgetown County / Geography of Georgetown County / Examples of Plantation Homes / Demise of the Rice Plantations / Gallery of the Abandoned Rice Fields / Explanation of Certain Terms / Links to other sites / Bibliography