The Crucible of Carolina

The ten essays in ""The Crucible of Carolina"" explore the connections between the language and culture of South Carolina's barrier islands, West Africa, the Caribbean, and England. Decades before any formal, scholarly interest in South Carolina barrier life, outsiders had been commenting on and documenting the ""African"" qualities of the region's black inhabitants. These qualities have long been manifest in their language, religious practices, music, and material culture.