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Difficulty: MediumMajor Slave Rebellions and Conspiracies

In September 1739, an uprising of enslaved people led by an Angolan man named Jemmy erupted near the Stono River in South Carolina, with the participants marching south toward Florida. Which of the following geopolitical factors most directly catalyzed this rebellion?

  1. The Spanish governor's official proclamation offering freedom and sanctuary to British-enslaved runaways who reached St. AugustineAnswer
  2. B
    The coordination of a joint southern campaign planned by Gabriel Prosser's network of blacksmiths in Richmond
  3. C
    The formal negotiation of a land grant treaty between the colony of South Carolina and independent maroon communities in the Appalachian Mountains
  4. D
    The successful execution of shipboard mutinies in Charleston Harbor that secured naval vessels for transportation back to Africa

Answer

The Spanish governor's official proclamation offering freedom and sanctuary to British-enslaved runaways who reached St. Augustine
The correct answer is correct because the Spanish Empire actively sought to undermine the British colony of South Carolina. The Spanish governor's proclamation offering freedom and protection to escaped British-enslaved individuals who reached Florida and embraced Catholicism acted as a powerful direct catalyst for the Stono Rebellion in 1739.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the geographical and geopolitical target of the Stono rebels' march.
The rebels marched south toward St. Augustine, Florida, which was a Spanish colonial territory.
Understanding the destination explains the external motivation for the rebellion.
2
Identify the Spanish policy regarding British-enslaved people at the time.
Spain offered freedom and land to runaways who reached Florida and converted to Catholicism.
This policy served as a destabilization tactic against British colonies and a powerful pull factor for freedom seekers.
3
Evaluate the distractors based on chronology and historical accuracy.
Gabriel Prosser's conspiracy occurred in 1800, maroon treaties were characteristic of Caribbean colonies, and shipboard mutinies do not align with the Stono rebels' overland march.
Differentiating these events prevents chronological and conceptual errors.

Key Concept

The geopolitical context and catalysts of major slave rebellions, specifically the role of Spanish Florida in inspiring the Stono Rebellion.
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Topics

Major Slave Rebellions and Conspiracies

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