USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In doing so, she became known as the originator of one of South Carolina’s most important early cash crops. 8 With her success, Pinckney passed indigo seeds along to her neighbors, essentially enabling and encouraging the establishment of a new trade commodity for the colony.

Detailed explanation-2: -Historians often credit Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793) with the development of the successful indigo industry in the mid-1700s in South Carolina. Her unique situation as the manager of her father’s lands helped carve her name into the history of South Carolina.

Detailed explanation-3: -Eliza used her 1744 crop to make seed and shared it with other planters, leading to an expansion in indigo production. She proved that colonial planters could make a profit in an extremely competitive market.

Detailed explanation-4: -But then, England found itself at war with France and could no longer import indigo from the French West Indies. So it needed a new source, preferably within the British Empire. Eliza decided to give it a try. Indigo was a tropical plant.

Detailed explanation-5: -What does indigo have to do with South Carolina history? Indigo was grown in early South Carolina to produce blue dye that was exported to England for use in the British textile industry. Indigo formed a significant part of the South Carolina economy for approximately fifty years, from the late 1740s to the late 1790s.