Caryl Phillips is concerned with the issue of racial discrimination specifically against the enslaved blacks during the period of slavery. Racial discriminatory practices manifested itself in the form of physical and psychological abuse, and the suppression of their voice.
The novel “Cambridge” was written by British- Caribbean novelist, Caryl Phillips in 1991. Phillips was born in St. Kitts in 1958, and settled in Leeds, England with his parents as a toddler. The story is set on a nineteenth century Caribbean plantation. Phillips focuses the novel on the issue of slavery. Slavery lasted from the mid 15th century to the late 19th century. The middle passage is the transportation of Africans to the Caribbean where they were to be enslaved. Africans were chained below decks and brought up once a day to exercise. Conditions below decks were disreputable as slaves were packed very closely below deck. It is estimated that 48,000 Africans were imported to the British Caribbean for sale by the 1790’s. The historical context of slavery as highlighted in the novel reveals the harsh and inhumane nature of the system of slavery. In addition, the author also reveals the complexity of master/ slave relationships during the period. White men typically engaged in forced sexual intercourse with the wives of the enslaved African men. The Europeans enforced slave codes to disrupt and discourage the development of slave families and communication among slaves until the 1823 Amelioration Act was passed. The division found on the plantation was mostly between the slaves themselves rather than between the whites and the slaves. The Europeans governed all aspects of slave life. Whites occupied the top of the hierarchical structured and blacks the base. The Europeans believed that they were superior to the blacks. Thus, on slave plantations the whites occupied higher positions, such as