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Slinging.org Forum › General › Project Goliath - The History of The Sling
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Slinging in Colonial America (Read 1516 times)

rudyb Novicius Slinging Rocks! Posts: 2	Slinging in Colonial America Aug 1^st, 2012, 12:42pm I am looking for sources that can document the use of slings in Colonial America by the colonists. Has anyone found any information on this?
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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #1 - Aug 1^st, 2012, 8:33pm In all my info on colonial America there is no reference to colonists slinging. Doesn't mean they didn't do it. Just nobody wrote about it.
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rudyb

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #2 - Aug 2^nd, 2012, 7:07pm

I know that slings were still being used in medieval Europe into the 16th century, plus the early colonists were all aware of the bible story of David and Goliath, which tells me that they were at least aware of what a sling was. I've also found references to Abenaki use of slings in hunting, and those were the people in the area that is now NH and ME. So I feel that there is a high probability that the colonists, in particular the children, may have used slings both as toys and for hunting. But, as yet, I've found nothing written about it.

Rudy

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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #3 - Aug 3^rd, 2012, 9:25pm Slings were in use by many tribes throughout the Americas. I don't think it ever caught on with the colonists though.
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Lugh-Lamhfada

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #4 - Aug 13^th, 2012, 8:03am

With later place names like Palmyra Indiana and Carthage Illinois etc this tells me that at least after Independence and probably before also there were quite a few settlers who came from outside Europe, in particular the middle east and North Africa. Given the strong slinging traditions there until very recently perhaps they brought slings with them?

So I suppose then there is a chance that during the Colonial period peoples from French and British territories elsewhere may have arrived in North America? Maybe with slings?

"Andraste Basbochorbhan"- Andraste brings death to the wicked

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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #5 - Aug 13^th, 2012, 9:04pm By the time of the American Colonial Era none of the peoples coming from Europe still maintained a strong slinging tradition. Certainly not the British or French.
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Lugh-Lamhfada Descens A slinger is only as good as his last stone Posts: 198 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #6 - Aug 16^th, 2012, 3:53pm I meant their subject peoples. North Africans etc. Just a thought.
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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #7 - Aug 18^th, 2012, 9:07pm Some of the Africans brought to this country as slaves probably had some knowledge of slings and slinging. I doubt if it was passed on as most things African were severely discouraged by the new owners.
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Mauro Fiorentini

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #8 - Aug 18^th, 2012, 10:04pm

Quote from rudyb on Aug 2^nd, 2012, 7:07pm:

the early colonists were all aware of the bible story of David and Goliath, which tells me that they were at least aware of what a sling was.

I have to disagree on this Sir.
We all are aware of the bible story of the Conception, but we don't really become aware of it until it's too late Grin

By the way, welcome to the forum! Why don't you present yourself properly?
And about your question, I second bigkahuna, for it doesn't seem there're enough evidences for slinging in colonial America (not yet).
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339 - 525

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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #9 - Aug 19^th, 2012, 9:45pm Most of the Native American groups that had a history of sling use soon gave them up when they realized the advantage of firearms. Same for the bow and arrow.
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timothy42b

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #10 - Aug 20^th, 2012, 1:26pm

Quote from bigkahuna on Aug 18^th, 2012, 9:07pm:

Some of the Africans brought to this country as slaves probably had some knowledge of slings and slinging. I doubt if it was passed on as most things African were severely discouraged by the new owners.

Until 1840 the US had 3 African American immigrants for every 1 European. Most of these would have been from West Africa. Is there a tradition of African slinging?

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bigkahuna

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #11 - Aug 20^th, 2012, 9:27pm

The use of the sling was wide spread throughout Africa. There is, so far, no documentation that any of the African people brought here continued the use of the sling. The only well documented craft brought from Africa was the making of baskets by the Gullah people of South Carolina, who still make the same kind of baskets today as their African ancestors did.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

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Pikåru

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #12 - Aug 21^st, 2012, 11:48am

There's an often forgotten colonial frontier in the United States that was never taught when I was in school. I don't know whether it's more than a footnote these days but there was the Spanish colonial frontier in the southwest and central US. The Spanish had established settlements and a capital in northern New Mexico as early as 1598.
My father talks about his great-grandfather using a sling. Now whether slinging came over from Europe with these pioneers or whether it was picked up from the natives here I am not qualified to answer.
It's not a solid lead, like a book reference but it's an area to look into.
The Spanish kept good records, the Church kept good records too.
In a related topic some of the best pre-contact historical records for the Marianas came from Jesuit priests.

I sling. Therefore I am.
Tano' Hu I Islan Guahan.
http://itanohu.blogspot.com

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ChuckRocks

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Re: Slinging in Colonial America
Reply #13 - Aug 22^nd, 2012, 4:18pm

Fascinating Subject.
Non-evidential subjectionism is always fun as long as everyone gets to play and no one gets his eye shot out.

First; I am not a scholar of African or Colonial America Slings.
I can only suppose that if I were a slave and had the knowledge of sling warfare I would have made use of it; I would have not submitted to be taken into slavery. Furthermore, I would have led a slinged rebellion. Armed peoples are called citizens.
BUT, not seeing any evidence of slingging by slaves I can only draw the conclusion that they didn't have that knowledge.
And as a side note, my friends serving as missionarys in Coast d'Ivory have not seen any sling activity.

But what about schoolboys in Boston?
The Boston Massacre is said to have come about from schoolboys throwing snowballs (laced with rocks) at the Red Coats and got shot in return. Never bring a snowball to a gun fight.
I am sure these boys had the lesson of David and Goliath in their Sunday School class. (Yes, they had those then.)
And being all American red-blooded boys, they would have re-invented the sling based on their teacher's lessons.
If therefore, they had access to a servicable sling, why screw around with snowballs when provoking the British?

Can we suppose that the slings they used were servicable?
Or should we presume that these supposed boys had no real understanding of the awesomeness of our mutual love, the sling?
I propose the latter; they didn't know how to make good slings for beaning the Brits in Beantown.

I do not know of any slinging in Colonial America

(AKA Walker / Visit my Facebook page: at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SiegeMasters/168138883205859 )

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bigkahuna Interfector Viris Spurii Past Moderator Posts: 3682 Gender:	Re: Slinging in Colonial America Reply #14 - Aug 22^nd, 2012, 9:21pm Unfortunately, none of the documentation on the "Boston Massacre" says anything about slings, and none of the contemporary drawings or engravings of the incident show slings, which I think would have figured prominently.
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