{"id":615433,"date":"2023-03-06T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/06\/the-dark-history-of-south-carolinas-beguiling-blue-dye\/"},"modified":"2023-03-06T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","slug":"the-dark-history-of-south-carolinas-beguiling-blue-dye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/06\/the-dark-history-of-south-carolinas-beguiling-blue-dye\/","title":{"rendered":"The dark history of South Carolina\u2019s beguiling blue dye"},"content":{"rendered":"<section>\n<div>\n<header>\n<ul>\n<li><a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\"><span>Travel<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p>Indigo was once so vital to the state people called it \u201cblue gold.\u201d As interest in the dye reignites, historic sites are shining a light on its past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Published March 7, 2023<\/p>\n<p>10 min read<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>At Charleston landmarks such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccprc.com\/1447\/McLeod-Plantation-Historic-Site\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">McLeod Plantation<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.historiccharleston.org\/house-museums\/aiken-rhett-house\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Aiken-Rhett House<\/a>, visitors learn how cotton and rice powered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/south-carolina\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">South Carolina<\/a>\u2019s economy in the 17th and 18th centuries. It\u2019s less known that indigo was also such a vital crop for the British colony that planters called it \u201cblue gold.\u201d The leggy, subtropical bush produced an enchanting blue dye that was sent back to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/united-kingdom\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">England<\/a> to produce household items, military uniforms, and even Union Jack flags.<\/p>\n<p>Though indigo disappeared in the American South after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/American-Revolution\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/education.nationalgeographic.org\/resource\/resource-library-american-revolution\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Revolutionary War<\/a>, it\u2019s now making a comeback in and around Charleston. Travelers can take artisan-led workshops on how to harvest and dye with the plant, and most of all, visit historic sites which explore the ugly past of this beautiful color.<\/p>\n<h2>Exploring indigo\u2019s dark history<\/h2>\n<p>Revered by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans for its association with power, authority, and the sacred, indigo belongs to the pea family. The British attempted to grow it as early as 1607 in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/magazine\/article\/lost-colony-roanoke-history-theories-croatoan\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jamestown<\/a>, their first colony in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/virginia\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Virginia<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/article\/in-charleston-black-history-is-being-told-through-a-new-lens\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>How Charleston is telling stories about enslaved Africans in a new way<\/i><\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>But it wasn\u2019t until 16-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/chpi\/learn\/historyculture\/eliza-lucas-pinckney.htm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Eliza Lucas (Pinckney)<\/a> came along that the crop took off. In the 1730s, Eliza\u2019s father, a lieutenant governor stationed in Antigua, put her in charge of the family\u2019s three plantations (and 60 enslaved people) outside of Charleston. Skilled in botany, she had her father ship her some indigo seeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was absolutely no one in the Carolina colonies that knew anything about indigo plants,\u201d says Andrew Rodrigues, a historian at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gullahmuseumsc.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Gullah Museum<\/a> in Georgetown, South Carolina. \u201cHer father sent an expert [African] dye maker from one of the French islands, and he taught Eliza and the [enslaved people] how to process indigo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Indigo soon became South Carolina\u2019s second best cash crop. \u201cAlong with rice, it made South Carolina the wealthiest of the 13 colonies,\u201d Rodrigues says. At one point in the 1700s, more than a million pounds of it a year were harvested, processed, and packed into cakes to be shipped back to Britain, a $40 million value today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Enslaved laborers made the indigo bonanza possible. They were forced to work in giant brick vats where the fermenting smell and stagnant water attracted flies and mosquitoes, and with them, the constant threat of cholera, yellow fever, and malaria. It took some 180 pounds of leaves to produce one pound of indigo dye.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a reason why enslaved labor was used,\u201d says Jeff Neale, director of preservation and interpretation at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middletonplace.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Middleton Place<\/a>, a circa-1675 Charleston-area plantation where rice and indigo once thrived. \u201cNo one else would do it; conditions were horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Blue gold returns to the Carolinas<\/h2>\n<p>After American independence in 1776, Britain took its indigo business to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/india\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">India<\/a> and U.S. farmers stopped growing the plant. Most denim makers and other manufacturers turned to chemical dyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Then, about a decade ago, natural indigo started resurging. Books including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/34412073-the-indigo-girl?ac=1&#038;from_search=true&#038;qid=ZNlAbCSe1f&#038;rank=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Indigo Girl<\/i><\/a> by Natasha Boyd, a novel about Eliza Lucas, spurred interest in its history. Textile artists, moving away from polluting petroleum-based dyes, rediscovered the ancient plants.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite the crop\u2019s ubiquity in colonial times, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hmdb.org\/m.asp?m=29485\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Otranto Plantation Indigo Vat<\/a>, in Berkeley County, South Carolina, is one of the only tangible sites left behind. A historical marker spotlights two 14-by-14-foot brick basins where indigo would have been processed. \u201cDuring its heyday, the dye was brewed in vats as large as swimming pools,\u201d Neale says.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Middleton Place grows indigo again, and museum employees give demonstrations on dyeing and explain the brutal labor required to dig reservoirs for water, plant, harvest, and process the indigo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/article\/best-of-the-world-2023-culture\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Find out why Charleston is on our 2023 Best of the World list<\/i><\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/gullahgeecheecorridor.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Gullah Geechee<\/a> people, descendants of enslaved Africans forced to work plantations in coastal South Carolina, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/georgia-united-states\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Georgia,<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/florida\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Florida<\/a>, still live on the islands and Lowcountry along the southeastern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/united-states\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">United States<\/a> coast. Today, the Gullah Museum in Georgetown explores the region\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other traces of indigo appear in unexpected places through South Carolina\u2019s Lowcountry. Many homes are accented with sky blue paint, often called \u201chaint blue.\u201d Enslaved people started the custom, covering their doors, shutters, and entryways with a potion made of indigo, dirt, lime, and milk. It was meant to ward off evil spirits, or \u201chaints.\u201d Today, the shade remains popular on Southern porch ceilings.<\/p>\n<h2>How to get your hands blue<\/h2>\n<p>Travelers can try indigo crafts themselves at workshops and retreats run by artisans in and around Charleston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Caroline and David Harper started <a href=\"https:\/\/chidesignindigo.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CHI Design Indigo<\/a> in Charleston about nine years ago, focusing on eco-conscious fashion as well as historic preservation. Before starting her business, Caroline had attended an indigo workshop in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/japan?loggedin=true&#038;rnd=1677876114746\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Japan<\/a>, only to realize the plant was native to the Carolinas. The Harpers now hold indigo classes and retreats throughout the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Leanne Coulter and Rhonda Davis run <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daufuskieblues.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Daufuskie Blues<\/a> studio out of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.daufuskieisland.com\/mary-fields-school\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">1930s schoolhouse<\/a> on remote Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, accessible only by ferry from Hilton Head. \u201cI was shocked to learn indigo was here in our backyard, growing wild,\u201d Davis says. \u201cIt\u2019s leftover from the days of indigo plantations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And textile artist Leigh \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/madamemagar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Madame Magar<\/a>\u201d Magar offers one- to three-day workshops on her property on Johns Island near Charleston, which once held an indigo plantation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>At the workshops, students learn the basics of dyeing, folding pieces of fabric and cinching them with string, then dipping them into vats of blueberry-hued indigo. The cloth comes out looking greenish before exposure to the air turns it a rich blue. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Indigo isn\u2019t restricted to the South. Kenya Miles first discovered it while living in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/california\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">California<\/a>. \u201cA friend from El Salvador said people there were using indigo, and we were trying to do sustainable work,\u201d she says. Miles learned how to work with it, and now lives in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/article\/48-hours-baltimore\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Baltimore<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/destination\/maryland\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Maryland<\/a>, where she runs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluelightjunction.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Blue Light Junction<\/a>, a studio with a color lab and dye garden. \u201cPeople are hungry for indigo,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Barbara Noe Kennedy is an Arlington, Virginia, writer specializing in history, culture, and social justice issues.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline Gutman is a photographer based between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. Follow Caroline on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/carolinegutman\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a> to see more of her work. These photos were produced with support from the Pulitzer Center.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/travel\/article\/south-carolina-indigo-artists-enslaved-plantations\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Barbara Noe Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travel Indigo was once so vital to the state people called it \u201cblue gold.\u201d As interest in the dye reignites, historic sites are shining a light on its past. Published March 7, 2023 10 min read At Charleston landmarks such as McLeod Plantation and the Aiken-Rhett House, visitors learn how cotton and rice powered South [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":615434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,1130,683],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-financial","category-history","category-south"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}