1793-Oct.: White residents in Charleston began detecting signs of an imminent rising of the enslaved, which they attributed to the influence of “St. Domingo N

1793-Oct.: White residents in Charleston began detecting signs of an imminent rising of the enslaved, which they attributed to the influence of “St. Domingo Negroes”. A French observer noted that “many copies” of Sonthonax’s proclamation of general liberty were circulating among the city’s black population. Local newspapers complained that the enslaved had become “very insolent” as they absorbed news of the successful Caribbean revolt. This atmosphere of tension was exacerbated by the arrival of French privateers who recruited local sailors and spread republican ideologies. The city’s wealthy feared that the same printed materials inciting rebellion in the West Indies had successfully reached the mainland.