Although the city lost the status of state capital to Columbia in 1786, Charleston became even more prosperous in the plantation-dominated economy of the post-Revolutionary years. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 revolutionized the processing of this crop, making short-staple cotton profitable. It was more easily grown in the upland areas, and cotton quickly became South Carolina's major export commodity. The Piedmont region was developed into cotton plantations, to which the sea islands and Lowcountry were already devoted. Slaves were also the primary labor force within the city, working as domestics, artisans, market workers, and laborers.
What became South Carolina's major export commodity after 1739?