Negro cloth explained

Negro cloth or Lowell cloth was a coarse and strong cloth used for slaves' clothing in the West Indies and the Southern Colonies.^{[1] [2] [3]} The cloth was imported from Europe (primarily Wales) in the 18th and 19th centuries.^{[4] [5]}

The name Lowell cloth came from the town Lowell in Massachusetts, United States, where the cloth was produced.^[6]

The Act of 1735

South Carolina's Negro Act of 1735 had various cheap materials dictated for slave clothes that include ''Negro cloth, duffelds, course kiersies, osnaburg, blue linen, checked linen, coarse calicoes and checked kinds of cotton''^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Types

Negro cloth was a woven material made of cotton or blended coarse threads also homespun.^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} These were inexpensive and lower grades of cloth. Certain long cloths of coarser varieties and Salampore were among recognized Indian materials; the Dutch merchants called them ''Guinea or Negro cloth.'' ^{[15] [16] [17]} ''Guinea cloth'' was a generic term for various inferior Indian piece goods traded for the purpose,^[18] such as inexpensive dyed plain and patterned calicoes like stripes and checks.^{[19] [20]}

Quality

Negro cloth was durable, but often regarded by its wearers as coarse, rough, and uncomfortable. Those freed from slavery recalled the cloth feeling akin to "needles sticking one all the time."^[21]

Garments

The cloth was converted into various garments, such as breeches, jackets, skirts, bodices, shirts and trousers.

See also

• History of slavery in Virginia
• Osnaburg
• Perpetuana
• Tapsel (cloth)

References

1. Web site: Definition of NEGRO CLOTH. 2021-05-14. www.merriam-webster.com. en.
2. Book: Ownby. Ted. Clothing and Fashion in Southern History. Walton. Becca. 2020-07-23. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-4968-2952-8. en.
3. Book: Olmsted, Frederick Law. A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States, with Remarks on Their Economy. 1861. Mason Brothers. 27. en.
4. Book: Miller. Randall M.. Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery. Smith. John David. 1997. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-275-95799-5. 459. en.
5. Web site: Lowell Cloth . University of Massachusetts Lowell: Library . 14 May 2021 . en.
6. Book: Katz-Hyman. Martha B.. World of a Slave: Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves in the United States. Rice. Kym S.. 2011. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-34942-3. 352. en.
7. Book: Staples. Kathleen A.. Clothing Through American History: The British Colonial Era. Shaw. Madelyn C.. 2013-06-25. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-08460-7. 45. en.
8. Book: White. Shane. Stylin': African-American Expressive Culture, from Its Beginnings to the Zoot Suit. White. Graham. 2018-10-18. Cornell University Press. 978-1-5017-1808-3. 9. en.
9. Book: South Carolina Historical Magazine. 1981. South Carolina Historical Society. 233. en.
10. Web site: NPS Ethnography: African American Heritage & Ethnography. 2021-05-15. www.nps.gov.
11. Book: F. José Blanco. Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe [4 volumes]]. Hunt-Hurst. Patricia Kay. Lee. Heather Vaughan. Doering. Mary. 2015. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-61069-310-3. 33. en. Most clothing was made out of coarse, inexpensive cloth such as osnaburg, “jeans,” homespun, and a plain-weave white cotton or wool fabric advertised as “Negro cloth.” These fabrics were used to construct shirts, skirts, bodices, and trousers.
12. Book: Tongate, Vicki Adams. Another Year Finds Me in Texas: The Civil War Diary of Lucy Pier Stevens. 2016-02-23. University of Texas Press. 978-1-4773-0864-6. en. Negro cloth, a roughly woven blend known for its service and durability, was a mainstay of the slaves' clothing, and with the approach of winter weather, the women of the household focused more heavily on producing this fabric..
13. Book: Dialect Notes. 1939. American Dialect Society. 730. en.
14. Book: Bartlett, John Russell. Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded as Peculiar to the United States. 1877. Little, Brown. 422. en.
15. Book: Mathew, Kuzhippalli Skaria. Ship-building and Navigation in the Indian Ocean Region, AD 1400-1800. 1997. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. 978-81-215-0739-4. 160. en.
16. Book: Shastri. Ajay Mitra. Revealing India's Past: Recent Trends in Art and Archaeology : Prof. Ajay Mitra Shastri Commemoration Volume. Sharma. R. K.. Handa. Devendra. 2005. Aryan Books International. 978-81-7305-287-3. 142. en.
17. Book: Session, Orissa History Congress. Proceedings of the Annual Session. 1990. The Congress. 87. en.
18. Book: Evenson, Sandra Lee. A History of Indian Madras Manufacture and Trade: Shifting Patterns of Exchange. 1994. University of Minnesota. 65. en.
19. Book: Evenson, Sandra Lee. A History of Indian Madras Manufacture and Trade: Shifting Patterns of Exchange. 1994. University of Minnesota. 66,68,69. en.
20. Book: Kriger. Colleen E.. Cloth in West African History. Kriger. Colleen E.. 2006. Rowman Altamira. 978-0-7591-0422-8. 38. en.
21. Book: Smith, Merril D.. The World of the American Revolution: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

    A Daily Life Encyclopedia]

    . 2015-08-28. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-4408-3028-0. 283. en.