Unfree Markets: The Slaves' Economy and the Rise of Capitalism in South Carolina

Since the 1990s, his to ri ans have devoted inten sive study to the eco nomic activi ties of enslaved peo ple in the Amer i can South. How peo ple owned as prop erty bought and sold goods, and for what pur poses, reaches to the heart of ques tions about the con di tions of slav ery, rela tions between mas ters and slaves, and slaves' abil ity to ame lio rate the con di tions of their ser vi tude. inter nal or infor mal econ omy of slavery in rela tion the his tory of cap i tal ism. ties. Enslaved men and women sold pro duce at markets and sta ples such as rice and cot ton to store keep ers. They hired them selves out for odd jobs, earning income that they used to pur chase goods and, in a few excep tional cases, their own free dom. Market involve ment, how ever, did not equal free dom. Hill argues that slaves' entrepreneurial activities strengthened the institution of slavery, even as they provided "a modi cum of inde pen dence" and "a material and psycho log i cal buffer" against slav ery's harshest effects (15). Edwards's study is thor oughly researched and moves debate about slaves' market activities in new direc tions. Although some read ers may dis agree with some of her conclusions, Unfree Markets is an impor tant con tribu tion to the fast-growing lit erature on slavery and capitalism in the American South. According to Edwards, dur ing the early colo nial period, slaves began provide ade quate sub sis tence and neces si ties such as shoes and clothing, so slaves raised crops and sold pro duce to sur vive. Over time, enslaved peo ples' economic activi ties increased. Slaveowners did not attempt to con strain slaves'