The Rise and Decline of the Indigo Industry of South Carolina

geographic interest are present such as the protection of city water supplies derived from interstate watersheds. Few of the adaptions, however, are direct and clear cut. This leads to the conclusion, borne out by numerous further examples, that a state line is apt to exert its influence over a zone and not in a sharp line of demarcation or cleavage. Examples illustrating this tendency are: extensions of utilities and roads for short distances ove1· the state line and the presence of slums and minor vice areas on both sides of the line although the reason for their existence originated in the less strict laws and lower taxes of one side. This zonal quality apparently reflects in some measure the compromise between the fixed political , and the actual changing areal limits of expanding and contracting human activities. It also seems *¦'"> be a major factor differentiating a state line from an international boundary. The Rise and Decline of the Indigo Industry of South Carolina WALTER W. RISTOW State Nornwil School, Clieney, Washington Indigo production in the middle coastal plain region of South Carolina began in 1741 and flourished for a little more than a century. The rapid rise to favor and the almost equally rapid decline in production were the result of several physical, human, and economic factors. Favoring factors in the development of the industry included: 1.Extensive areas of well drained upland sandy loam soils 2.Favorable climatic conditions, including abundant well distributed rainfall, and a long growing season 3.Nearby marl deposits which provided lime, used in the process of extracting the dye 4.A good supply of cheap slave labor which had been introduced oarlier into the region to cultivate the rice lands r\long the streams 5.The high price which indigo commanded in the British market fitted it for this pioneer region, where a product of high value and small bulk was needed 6. The bounty on indigo established by Parliment to apply throughout the Empire. The decline in production which set in after the Revolutionary War ended in the virtual extinction of the industry shortly after the middle of the nineteenth century. The following factors contributed to the decline : 1.The loss of the English bounty after the Revolution 2.Destruction of the crop due to ravages of grasshoppers 3.Competition from new regions of production in the East Indies 4.The obnoxiousness of the odoriferous vats which were used in the process of extracting the dye 5.The increased importance of cotton production after the invention of the cotton .*?in 6.The introduction of artificial dyes developed from coal tar. (32) ...