By Luana M. Graves Sellars
Enslaved women on a rice barge in Georgetown, SC
Any story that tells of the rich history of the Lowcountry must include the Gullah Geechee culture and it’s birth during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. The cultural story of incredible strength, perseverance and endurance, is far from complete without telling about their connection to rice, traditionally and historically, as well as understanding how their centuries old West African technological farming process significantly impacted the substantial amount of wealth that the area enjoyed.
As a result, the origin and incredible success of rice in America is directly tied to the knowledge and history of the Gullah Geechee community. They were directly responsible for rice becoming one of the most important cash crops in the South.
Cultivating rice here is a success story. Yet, it’s seldom told. During slavery, rice, not cotton, was the primary US crop economically. Ultimately, the amount of wealth that it created was incredible. The east coast of South Carolina, due to its affluence, brought with it political clout and influence; enabling it to be home to several constitution signers.
Early in the 1700s, the British crown placed demands on South Carolina colonists to grow indigo to dye their uniforms and rice. As alternating seasonal crops, they supported the need for increased and continuous streams of labor. Harvest after harvest, each attempt failed at farming rice until it was discovered that it has been grown successfully in West Africa.
Slave traders were very specific in the slaves that were captured. They deliberately sought out West Africans that were highly educated and well-versed in several valuable skills, such as the type of engineered farming that was necessary to grow rice. The value of their knowledge and skills translated into increased demand and purchase price.
Growing rice is not simple. It is very labor intensive and needs humidity with alternating fresh and salt water to grow. The lowcountry’s land and temperature is very similar to the coastline of West Africa, where rice has been grown successfully for several centuries.
South Carolina’s coastline, with its geographical makeup of sea islands, has the perfect topography for harvesting the crop. At the time, as a result of its tremendous success, Charleston, then Beaufort and Georgetown Counties were the primary areas along the east coast to focus on the crop, but eventually, harvesting rice stretched from southern North Carolina to northern Florida. Georgetown County was the largest producer of rice worldwide.
At one point, rice was the most lucrative crop in the US, which lent itself to one of the most popular rice brands that still exists today, Carolina Gold Rice. The unique blend of soil and freshwater lends itself to its rich nutty scent and flavor. The original grain had a golden hue, but the amount of wealth that derived from the seedlings, reinforced its value to those who harvested it.
Eventually, the seed became the world’s standard for quality rice and the increasing demand led to pressures for increased production. The combination of wealth, location and the skills of the enslaved, started the plantation era and the continuous need for large numbers of human labor to harvest it. As the largest and most active slave port in the United States, Charleston’s harbor, Gadsden Wharf, was directly connected to the income generated by the rice trade.
The amount of generated wealth made rice slaves more valuable and purchased for a higher price. For centuries, generational experience and traditional knowledge of how water temperature and its salinity, the rise and fall of the tides and being able to control them were important factors in caring for the crop.
In order for the rice to grow, it requires continuous moisture from the air and soil, which was often a foot or more in depth. In West Africa, controlling the water was done by hollowing out a large tree, similar to a natural pipe system that the water could flow through or blocked. That technology and practice was brought here and developed into what is called the ‘rice trunk’ water management systems that are still in use today.
The entire process was extremely dangerous. Each field took 5 to 7 years to completely clear the huge cypress-gum trees that grew up to 8 feet in diameter with a thick condensed root base. Rice farming is an extremely labor intensive process, requiring 100 to 300 laborers per 100 acres to prepare the soil and harvest the land by hand, often in deep critter filled swampy water. Accidents, alligators, snakes, ringworm, severe skin ailments, malaria and yellow fever were common. The life span for rice slaves was 3 years, with the average age of death being around 25 years old. The constant turnover for labor and the intensity of the work, fueled the necessity for skilled slave laborers and large plantations to produce it.
Slave labor was divided by gender, similar to West African tradition. Men were responsible for physically clearing the swampy fields of the huge cypress-gum trees, building trenches and manning the rice trunks. Women were especially important, as traditionally, they were the primary laborers who protected and planted the seeds with their bare feet, harvested the crop and separated the husk from the grain. Even very young children were used to bang pots to scare away birds, so that they couldn’t eat the seeds.
The free labor led to tens of millions of pounds of rice being produced in the lowcountry each year.
The lowcountry rice story is our story and an important part of America’s history. Today, all around us, the lowcountry’s lush landscapes often open up to wide expanses of open fields, which in more cases than not, are abandoned rice fields that were cleared tree by tree by the hands of enslaved men.
The Lowcountry community of Palmetto Bluff is no different. In fact, as you enter the gates and drive through the thick wooded tree lined road, eventually, you’ll come to a clearing. When you pass over what looks like a bridge, it’s actually where you’ll find a remnant of the lowcountry’s history and slavery story; a rice trunk.
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