Negro cloth or Lowell cloth was a coarse and strong cloth used for slaves' clothing in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and the

Southern Colonies The Southern Colonies within British America consisted of the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina (in 1712 split into North and South Carolina), and the Province of Georgia. In 1763, the newly created colonies ...

. The cloth was imported from Europe (primarily

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

) in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name ''Lowell cloth'' came from the town Lowell in Massachusetts, United States, where the cloth was produced.

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''.

Types

Negro cloth was a woven material made of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

or blended coarse threads also homespun. 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.'' ''Guinea cloth'' was a generic term for various inferior Indian

piece goods Piece goods were the textile materials sold in cut pieces as per the buyer's specification. The piece goods were either cut from a fabric roll or produced with a certain length, also called yard goods. Various textiles such as cotton, wool, silk, ...

traded for the purpose, such as inexpensive dyed plain and patterned calicoes like stripes and checks.

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."

Garments

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

References

Textiles Slavery in the United States Slavery in the Caribbean Slavery in North America {{textile-stub

The Act of 1735

Types

Quality

Garments

See also

References