They were bound for Spanish Florida, where successive proclamations had promised freedom for fugitive slaves from British North America.

[3] Jemmy and his group recruited nearly 60 other slaves and killed more than 20 whites before being intercepted and defeated by the South Carolina militia near the Edisto River.

Since 1708, the majority of the population of the South Carolina colony were enslaved Africans, as importation of slaves from Africa had increased in recent decades with labor demand for the expansion of cotton and rice cultivation as commodity export crops.

Historian Ira Berlin has called this the Plantation Generation, noting that South Carolina had become a "slave society", with slavery central to its economy.

South Carolina worked with Georgia to strengthen patrols on land and in coastal areas to prevent fugitives from reaching Spanish Florida.

Lastly, historians have suggested the slaves organized their revolt to take place on Sunday, when planters would be occupied in church and might be unarmed.

The Security Act of 1739 (which required all white males to carry arms even to church on Sundays) had been passed in August of that year in response to earlier runaways and minor rebellions, but it had not fully taken effect.

The leaders of the Kingdom of Kongo had voluntarily converted in 1491, followed by their people; by the 18th century, the religion was a fundamental part of its citizens' identity.

In the early 18th century, Kongo had been undergoing civil wars, leading to more people being captured and sold into slavery, including trained soldiers.

Mark M. Smith argues that taking action on the day after the Feast of the Nativity of Mary connected their Catholic past with present purpose, as did the religious symbols they used.

While on horseback, South Carolina's Lieutenant Governor William Bull and five of his friends came across the group; they quickly went off to warn other slaveholders.

The next day, the well-armed and mounted militia, numbering 19–99 men,[citation needed] caught up with the group of 76 slaves at the Edisto River.

The colonists mounted the severed heads of the rebels on stakes along major roadways to serve as warning for other slaves who might consider revolt.

[12] A group of the slaves who escaped fought a pitched battle with a militia a week later approximately 30 miles (50 km) from the site of the first conflict.

Colonial officials believed these were inspired by the Stono Rebellion, but historians think the increasingly harsh conditions of slavery since the beginning of the 18th century under the rice and cotton cultures were sufficient cause.

[citation needed] Planters decided to develop a slave population who were native-born, believing the workers were more content if they grew up enslaved.

[14] In addition, the legislature passed the Negro Act of 1740 to tighten controls: it required a ratio of one white to ten blacks on any plantation.

[20] The text of the marker reads: The Stono Rebellion, the largest slave insurrection in British North America, began nearby on September 9, 1739.

The rebels marched south toward promised freedom in Spanish Florida, waving flags, beating drums, and shouting "Liberty!"