This policy greatly displeased the colonists, who from 1735, the date of
the first law, to 1749, did not cease to clamor for the repeal of the
restrictions.[3] As their English agent said, they insisted that "In
Spight of all Endeavours to disguise this Point, it is as clear as Light
itself, that Negroes are as essentially necessary to the Cultivation of
_Georgia_, as Axes, Hoes, or any other Utensil of Agriculture."[4]
Meantime, evasions and infractions of the laws became frequent and
notorious. Negroes were brought across from Carolina and "hired" for
life.[5] "Finally, purchases were openly made in Savannah from African
traders: some seizures were made by those who opposed the principle, but
as a majority of the magistrates were favorable to the introduction of
slaves into the province, legal decisions were suspended from time to
time, and a strong disposition evidenced by the courts to evade the
operation of the law."[6] At last, in 1749, the colonists prevailed on
the trustees and the government, and the trade was thrown open under
careful restrictions, which limited importation, required a registry and
quarantine on all slaves brought in, and laid a duty.[7] It is probable,
however, that these restrictions were never enforced, and that the trade
thus established continued unchecked until the Revolution.


5. ~Restrictions in South Carolina.~[8] South Carolina had the largest
and most widely developed slave-trade of any of the continental
colonies. This was owing to the character of her settlers, her nearness
to the West Indian slave marts, and the early development of certain
staple crops, such as rice, which were adapted to slave labor.[9]
Moreover, this colony suffered much less interference from the home
government than many other colonies; thus it is possible here to trace
the untrammeled development of slave-trade restrictions in a typical
planting community.