Portrait of Peter Manigault on display in the Charleston Museum
One of the biggest difficulties one will face when trying to understand French Huguenot life in Carolina for early settlers is the language barrier. Early French Huguenots would have preferred to write to each other in their first language, just as any English speaker would continue to speak English to family even if they were in a different country. It involves a great deal of “search and rescue” to recover documents that contain pertinent and useful information that also happens to be in English. When looking at Huguenot families in South Carolina, one cannot even begin to consider skipping over the Manigaults.
Huguenots faced much religious persecution from the French crown at the time, and were, for the most part, forced to leave their country. The late 1500’s brought civil war, and even after peace was restored, it was merely a provisional experience in the hopes of ousting any Huguenot residents in the area. Louise XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had previously granted protection to Huguenots. Persecuted for their Protestant beliefs, the Huguenots saw the potential to settle in Carolina and establish a “religious refuge” where they could practice in peace.
The first to arrive in Carolina took up the merchant trade. They were the largest group (second to artisans) among Huguenots in South Carolina, totaling 20.8 percent, and were “an elite class in the making.” While they had to work to gain the same monetary (but not social prestige) that they had in France with nobility, the Huguenots laid the foundations that would benefit their descendants. The Manigaults are a prime example of a mobility of influence by the example of many of their descendants–Peter Manigault, most notably. His father, Gabriel, was a merchant, trader, manufacturer and planter, but also kept their wealth in expanse through his foreign commercial enterprises, as well. While Gabriel had much involvement in Charles Town in particular, (co-founder of the Charleston Library Society, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, etc.) Peter would belong to the first generation of American-born Huguenots and ultimately play a few cards in beginning the Revolution. He would be elected Speaker of the House in 1765 and would total holding the position three times, moving to oppose the enforcement of the Stamp Act in 1765. Peter would die as the wealthiest recorded individual of his generation (in South Carolina). His letters are also important in helping readers understand the comparisons between European wealth and American wealth, and the different cultural values that can be seen on both sides of the spectrum.
Peter’s mother, Judith, would hold much importance to our understanding of life during this time, as well. It’s known that there was great persecution of Huguenots during this time – Huguenots were forbidden from settling in New France after 1632. Judith Giton Manigault was part of the large movement of Huguenots to Carolina, and would move along with about 10,000 Huguenots across the Atlantic to British America. Judith’s emigration is an example of the pull America had on Huguenots at the time – not only was the promise of freedom from persecution one of the drawing factors of America, but Carolina itself promised wealth and expansion.
SOURCES
Baird, Charles W. History of the Huguenot Emigration to America. Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Co., Inc. 1966. Print.
DuBose, Samuel. A Contribution to the History of the Huguenots of South Carolina. Columbia, SC: The R.L. Bryan Company. 1972. Print.
Hirsch, Arthur Henry, Ph.D. The Huguenots of Colonial South Carolina. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 1928. Print.
Manigault, Peter. “Letters from Peter to his Parents.” Manigault Family Papers. Charleston, SC: South Carolina Historical Society. 11/275/7. 1750. Print.
Smaily, James. “Gitton Receipt of Passage.” Manigault Family Papers. Charleston, SC: South Carolina Historical Society. 11/275. 1685. Print.
Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America. New York, NY: Penguin Books. 2001. Print.
Van Ruymbeke, Bertrand. From Babylon to New Eden: The Huguenots and Their Migration to Colonial South Carolina. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. 2006. Print.
Weir, Robert M. Colonial South Carolina: A History. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. 1997. Print.
Wood, Peter H. Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina From 1670 through the Stono Rebellion. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. 1974. Print.