How did indigo get to Africa?

Indigo in West Africa was obtained from local plant sources, either indigofera or lonchocarpus cyanescans. Transforming the raw material into a successful dye vat was a complex process requiring great expertise and liable to unexplained failure.

Read more

How did slaves make indigo?

Slaves were responsible for most of South Carolina's indigo production. Field slaves planted, weeded, and harvested the crop, and skilled "indigo slaves" worked to convert the plant to dye. What is indigo culture?

Subsequently, what is indigo grown for?

Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera genus, in particular Indigofera tinctoria; dye-bearing Indigofera plants were commonly grown and used throughout the world, in Asia in particular, as an important crop, with the production of indigo dyestuff economically Moreover, who brought indigo america? In 1742 the face of agriculture in South Carolina changed dramatically when Eliza Lucas, the 16-year-old daughter of a wealthy planter, successfully cultivated indigo for the first time in the American colonies.

Where does indigo grow?

What is indigo? Indigo is the name of a large family of deciduous shrubs, identified in modern scientific nomenclature as part of the genus Indigofera. This genus encompasses many hundreds of species of indigo, most of which flourish in tropical areas like India, Africa, and Latin America. Why is indigo so popular in Japan? In Japan, indigo dyeing is known as aizome, and its popularity dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868), when brighter colors were reserved for the higher social classes. The samurai wore indigo clothing to prevent wound infections, and firefighters favored indigo fabric for its flame retardant properties.