Chapter 1634 - 1540

Chapter 1634: Chapter 1540

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The slave patrol team on the plantation did not dare to resist at all, and the nearby three large plantations were controlled by the "Royal Army of Florida".

A group of imposing black soldiers announced to the plantation owners gathered in the open space that His Excellency the Governor of Florida granted freedom to all the black slaves here.

The plantations were obliged to provide them with at least three months of living expenses. Meanwhile, the Royal Army also protected the plantation properties, and the freed slaves were not to destroy the plantations.

In an instant, more than 290 black slaves were so excited they wept bitterly, desperately trying to kiss the boots of those black soldiers.

Yes, it was completely different from the time of the Book uprising.

At that time, the Rebel Army had no ability to provide shelter for the slaves, let alone let them see hope for the future. Following the Rebel Army to attack plantations all over the United States would most likely end with suppression by the American Government.

But now it was the army from the "haven for runaway slaves" of Florida announcing they got freedom, so afterward, they could legitimately go to Florida to earn a living. Americans were unlikely to go there to capture them.

Regarding the events in Florida, almost every black slave had heard, and people often secretly connected to escape.

Indeed, the Royal Army thoughtfully had the plantation owners give them travel expenses. Three months was enough for them to crawl to Florida even if they had to.

On the other hand, those trembling plantation owners thought they would likely meet God from the moment they were pointed at by guns from the Spanish forces. Even if they didn’t die, they surely would be looted empty or have their plantations burned.

After all, their General Hampton had just attacked Florida, so it was only natural for the Spaniards to retaliate.

However, the Spaniards only made them release the black slaves and provide a little living expense for the slaves, which allowed them to breathe a long sigh of relief.

Therefore, the plantation owners were very cooperative with the Spanish forces and didn’t even bother to report back to the city—actually, even if they did, it wouldn’t be of much use as only less than 80 state militiamen were left in Savannah.

Jourdan’s army "swept" through 13 large plantations in a single day, releasing countless black slaves and leaving behind some "Black Seminoles" to lead them to Florida.

Most of these black soldiers were also runaway slaves or descendants of runaway slaves, and they were grateful beyond words for the commander’s actions to rescue the black slaves.

Black people from Santo Domingo naturally empathized, and the morale of the entire corps was practically explosive.

The next day, Jourdan, based on the introductions of some supervisory black slaves, divided his army into three groups to head towards the largest plantations in Savannah.

Beside the marching column of the central army, Captain Marius of Santo Domingo, looking at the receding Savannah City, finally couldn’t help but turn to ask Jourdan, "General, aren’t we going to attack the towns?"

"No," Jourdan nodded, "there aren’t many troops there, no need to mind them."

"But... we’ve come so far to attack the American South, just to..."

Marius hadn’t thought of the appropriate words when Jourdan said, "That’s right, just to keep ’cleansing’ the plantations."

Marius widened his eyes, "But that way we won’t be able to teach the Americans a lesson at all. In future ceasefire negotiations, we will also lack bargaining chips."

Jourdan smiled, "When His Highness the Regent gave me orders, I had the same question."

"This is His Highness’s arrangement? But why?"

Recalling the Regent King’s words at the time, Jourdan slowly said, "We cannot promote unity within the United States. If we occupied the Southern United States militarily, the United States Congress would most likely mobilize the whole country.

"A war to resist foreign enemies would cause all Americans to tightly unite together."

"And the liberation of black slaves is actually no less of a blow to America than a military occupation, and it can also cause division within America."

Marius’s eyes were sparkling, apparently not quite understanding.

Jourdan continued, "The Northern United States has been more influenced by European Enlightenment thought and generally supports abolishing slavery.

"However, Southern plantations need a large number of slaves for farming and firmly oppose abolition.

"We have encountered almost no direct conflict with Americans this time; we just released slaves. Southern plantation owners suffer substantial losses and will definitely demand a tough response against Florida, but the North would feel that America has not really suffered any loss and might even see it as a ’righteous’ act.

"Both sides will erupt into intense disputes in Congress, and in extreme cases, a rupture might even occur."

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Southern plantations were an agricultural production system in the Southern United States based on slavery from the late 18th to the mid-19th century, mainly distributed in the Mississippi River Basin and the southeastern coastal areas. Initially, its economic model focused on tobacco cultivation, but due to soil degradation, it shifted to a cotton-based economy, forming a large-scale monoculture production system depending on slave labor[1].

After the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, the daily output of cotton increased a thousandfold, propelling the South to become a major global cotton producer. By 1850, annual cotton exports to England surpassed one million tons, and the number of slaves increased to 3 million, creating an economic system known as the "Cotton Kingdom." The plantation adopted industrial labor management, maintaining a high-intensity work pace through timekeeping and whip supervision, with female slaves often forced to undertake heavy manual work[1].

This system’s conflict with the industrial progress of the North ignited as the core conflict of the Civil War. Historical archives show that plantation owners used microfilm archive systems to record the operational mechanisms of slavery, including labor time management, profit calculations, and other modern business practices. Observers like Frederick Law Olmsted documented violent control measures such as whipping, revealing the oppressive nature of slavery.

In the late 18th century, the economic engine of the South, based on slavery, initially relied on tobacco cultivation. Due to over-planting that depleted soil fertility, the profits from tobacco cultivation declined, and some people (like Thomas Jefferson) believed that slavery would therefore vanish. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, solving the problem of separating cotton seeds, boosting a slave’s daily cotton processing capacity from 1 pound to 1000 pounds. This technological innovation propelled the rise of the Southern "Cotton Kingdom." By 1850, annual cotton exports to England exceeded one million tons, reinforcing and perpetuating the system of slavery. Plantations employed industrial labor management, maintaining a high-intensity work pace through timekeeping and whip supervision, with female slaves often forced to undertake heavy manual labor. Field work implements were typically operated by female slaves and supervised by a male black overseer with a whip, allowing no slackness or delay.