...remained an important social institution especially in the creation of the Americas. Despite the fact Brazil, the West Indies, and the Southern Colonies are different regions of the Americas, the institutions of slavery within these areas were fairly similar. All three regions shared similar racial ideologies, used slave labor to construct their economies, and experienced resistance. Aside from these similarities the regions of Brazil, the West Indies, and the Southern Colonies exhibited differences, specifically in the way they justified the use of slaves, how they organized slave labor, and in what ways slaves resisted. To begin, nations present in the West Indies, Brazil, and the Southern Colonies each had specific racial ideologies. In each region the use of African slaves stemmed directly from a need for labor. Likewise, each region varies in its justification of its use of slaves. The Portuguese justified their use of slaves in Brazil as a direct result of the necessity of labor. On the other hand, the French in Haiti felt racially superior to Africans using that as their justification. The French were so absorbed with one’s racial background they tracked heritage...
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...Emancipation of the British West Indies was anticipated as early as 1787, but was not achieved until the Abolition Act of 1833. However, in 1833 emancipation was not as complete as these words would suggest, as there were clauses in the Act about an Apprenticeship system which delayed complete emancipation until 1838. The Apprenticeship system was originally applied to the plan instituted in the interval between slavery and emancipation to prepare the slaves to assume the duties of freemen. The new law freed immediately those slaves under the age of six years old; however older slaves were to be ‘apprenticed’ for up to eight years. There were many justifications given for Apprenticeship; it was used to soften the blow of emancipation by giving the planters a few more years of free labour, while conceding to the slaves their right to freedom. The earlier proposals of an Apprenticeship period of twelve years show clearly that it was designed to appease the planters and persuade the slaves into thinking that they were free. What the British colonial government really wanted before full emancipation was to reduce the amount of slaves leaving the plantation, ensure sugar productions remain constant and prevent major disturbances in all British colonies that were under the Apprenticeship system. However, although the British colonial government anticipated for this to happen, their resolve was thwarted by the disgruntle ex-slaves in many British colonies such as the ex-slaves in Jamaica who made...
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...QUESTION: What evidence is there to prove that the Africans, who arrived in the British West Indies between the years 1655 and 1807, were ill-treated? THEME: Caribbean Economy and Slavery OBJECTIVES: ♣To examine the horrors of British West Indian Slavery ♣To assess the conditions that slaves worked under in British plantation slavery ♣To discuss the reason slavery was fought against by humanitarian groups ♣To investigate why slavery was overly detested by slaves ♣To see how British West Indian planters abused slaves to the point where they were treated like animals RATIONALE: Slavery was an interesting period in British West Indian History. It was comprised of various sectors aimed at one goal, which was to make a profit, no matter what. Slavery was nothing to be adored because it only wrought bitterness for the enslaved individuals. A simple prognosis is found in the words of the great poetic philosopher and journalist José Martí, in one of his writings “Hatred, slavery's inevitable aftermath”. The Hinterlands of West Africa was where it started, and it followed through with a lot of suffering and peril before finally ending in catastrophe for the planters and initial exultation for the slaves. This research will educate the reader about the conditions under which slaves produced the various cash crops in the British West Indies. INTRODUCTION The horrible treatments of slaves will be forever engraved in the history books. The obvious effects have been past...
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...The Treatment of Slaves Why were slave laws necessary? Life on the plantation was based on fear. Masters were afraid the slaves would rebel and slaves were afraid of their masters’ tempers and the complete control they had over them. While slaves were controlled by certain laws most masters felt free to use their own discretion in how they treated slaves. Slaves who were constantly under the control of estate attorneys were more likely to be abused and to revolt. Whether masters were kind or cruel, their main aim was to preserve slave society in which the whites were the masters superior and the slaves were subservient. Slave Laws * Masters had to provide food, shelter, clothing, and medical...
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...In 1494, after Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean, the world was divided into two areas of exploration and colonization, the Portuguese and the Spain, in order to avoid conflict between the two forces. This was known as the Treaty of Tordesillas, where Spain established the policy, marcclausm i.e. sea closed to others. Elizabeth soon implied that Spain caused aggression by restricting the access of foreigners in to the Americas and so the concept of “no peace beyond the line” was introduced. The Spaniards settled in the West Indies, mainly in the countries in the Greater Antilles and had settled in a little of the Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas and the Guianas, and so these areas became a weakness for the Spanish monopoly and this is where it began to be challenged. The Spanish were complemented by the trading system where the Indians slaves were forced to bring their gold and other resources. Eventually, the prospect of profits from gold was lessened, as the commodity soon became exhausted and so they turned to livestock and sugar production. Spain’s wealth increased tremendously in the sixteenth century and so did their attempts to curtail the Europeans from stealing their riches. The introduction of military measures such as establishing forts, bureaucratic centralization and house of trades (e.g. The Casa de Contratacion) were various strategies that Spain employed to regulate trade between Spain and her colonies. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries...
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...As the change from tobacco to sugar cane production began to take place, so did the change in slave labour. It is said that the Amerindians were unfit for harsh labour and were in turn decimated. The Europeans then had to rely on the convicts, bondservants and prisoners of war to exploit resources and spread agricultural systems. This proved to be futile as the men that were taken were from cities and towns back in Europe. Originally, slavery had taken place among the different tribes in Africa, but in 1518, a shipload of slaves was brought from the African Coast to the Caribbean. After Portugal had succeeded in establishing sugar plantations in northern Brazil in 1545, Portuguese merchants on the West Coast of Africa began to supply enslaved Africans to the sugar planters. There are said to be many reasons African slaves were brought to work on thee plantations. There are two theories that aim to either support or disregard these reasons; racism and economical factors. Firstly, the plantation owners were said to have been guaranteed a steady supply of African slaves as opposed to the uncertain flow of bondservants, convicts and prisoners of war from Europe. This was undoubtedly true. Only so many people were convicted or taken a prisoner. It was indeed a lot but not when compared to the amount of Africans that were carried to the Caribbean through the slave trade. The Europeans came to the realization that slavery was already present. From excerpts that were taken...
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...TOPIC 1: THE AMERINDIANS Week 1: THE ARAWAKS (Theme One) PAPER: CORE CONTENT----BAHAMIAN-WEST INDIAN HISTORY References: Bahamian History Bk.I by Bain, G. Macmillan,1983 2.Caribbean story Bk. I and II By Claypole, W Longman (new edition) 1987 3. Development to Decolonization by Greenwood R, Macmillan, 1987 4.Caribbean people Bk.I by Lennox Honeychurch. Nelson, 1979 The Migration of the Indians to the New World. It is believed that the people who Columbus saw when he came to the New World were nomadic hunters from central and East Asia who followed the buffalo and deer. When the herds moved, people moved after them because they were dependent on the animals for food. It is therefore suspected that the herds led the people out of Asia by the north-east, across the Bering Strait and into North America. They crossed the sea by an ice –bridge when it was frozen over during the last Ice-Age. They did not know that they were crossing water from one continent to another. Map 1 Amerindians migration from central Asia into North America. The Amerindians settled throughout North America and were the ancestors of the many Red Indian tribes we know today, as well as the Eskimos in the far north. In general, they were nomadic but some followed settled agricultural pursuits and developed civilizations of their own like the Mayas in South America (check internet reference for profile on this group, focus on...
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...ASSESSMENT Theme 3: Resistance and revolt The economic effects of the Haitian Revolution on Haiti The Haitian Revolution was a great triumph in that it granted a large population of Africans freedom earlier than any other territory in the Caribbean, How true is it to say that early freedom was not worth the destruction of the entire Haitian Economy by the early 19th century? Rationale The condition of the Haitian economy today is far less than satisfactory, poverty and disease is rife and it seems there is no growth to be made in the near future. Battered by natural disasters, the Haitian economy is at an all-time low. One might wonder how this could be, Haiti or what it was, the great St.Domingue was among the richest and most successful places on the planet! This researcher decided to do research on this topic because as a historian I am curious to know why and when the Haitian economy started cascading to the point it is now. Historians who are curious to know more about the history of Haiti’s economy and those connected to Haiti by either residence or family may benefit from this research. Introduction The French colony St Domingue was formed when French settlers persistently tried to settle in Hispaniola which was a colony of Spain and were eventually in 1697 granted the western side of the island through the Treaty of Ryswick. After settling, the French imported Africans to be slaves as a supply of free labour...
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...Indentured Laborers Indentured laborers were young people who after abolishment of the slave trade and passage into the New World, offered to work for an employer for a certain number of years. This led to the indentured servitude labor system which was widely spread in the 18th century in the British colonies in North America and elsewhere. The system was used particularly as a way for the poor freed in the British and German states to get passage to the American colonies. These young people would work for a fixed number of years then be free to work freely. The employers would buy the indentured from the sea captain who brought the people over. This was done due to the labor demand that existed in the plantations and other work areas especially after the abolishment of slave trade and slavery. Note: after the abolishment of slave trade and slavery, the slaves held is captive for labor were freed. However, this did not mean the plantains and did not need labor. Some of the indentured laborers worked as farmers, as helpers for farm wives, as apprenticed craftsmen, and as miners among a variety of other professions. Both sides, the employer and the indentured laborer, were required to meet their terms which were legally enforced by local American courts. In case of any runaways, those laborers were sought and brought back to their employers to continue as their contract required. In the 17th and 18th century, about half of the white immigrants to the American colonies were...
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...Early European Exploration 1. Spain (new Spain) Reasons for exploration o God, Gold and Glory Area claimed o South and Central America without Brazil. Florida and New Mexico in North America Importance of Hernando de Soto, Hernán Cortez, Christopher Columbus o Columbus began first permanent contact between Europeans and the Americas o Hernando De Soto discovered the Mississippi o Francisco Cortes explored the SW (Grand Canyon), brought horses to Native Americans, 2. French (new French) Reasons for exploration o Fishing and Fur Trade Area claimed o All along the Saint Lawrence River and later the Mississippi River to Louisiana Importance of Verazzano, Cartier, Champlain, de la Salle. o Verazzano was first to discover New York and claim it for France; has a bridge named after himself o Jacques Cartier sailed up the Saint Lawrence River and founded Montreal (but was considered a failure by the French) o Samual de Champlain founded Quebec City and is known as the father of New France o de la Salle sailed down the Mississippi, founded Memphis and claimed Louisiana (named after Louis XIV) for France 3. English Reasons for exploration o Mercantilism – more land and raw resources for land-starved English, along with the creation of new markets for goods Lost colony of Roanoke (story) o (2nd voyage to Roanoke 1st hitched a ride back with Sir Francis Drake) Sailed to Roanoke and ran out of supplies. John White then sailed back to England for supplies...
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...Overview Above all of the acts of resistance towards slavery, non – violent and violent, there were three rebellions in the British West Indies that stood out. Those three were the Bussa Rebellion in Barbados, Easter 1816, the Demerara Revolt in Guyana, August 1823, and the Sam Sharpe Rebellion in Jamaica which took place in December 1831. The order in which the three rebellions occurred was similar; it was influential as well as extensive. Among all three rebellions there was one common factor. It was a time in which ameliorative proposals (gradual improvement in the slave’s way of life) were being made in Britain. This gave way to widespread rumours that there were measures taking place in metropolitan Britain to grant slaves their freedom but planters were withholding them (Emancipation Rumours). In all three cases this rumour aided in the agitation for freedom and precipitated rebellion. While some historians use these rebellions to make the case that slaves emancipated themselves, others are less liberal. None, however, deny that these later rebellions were pivotal to the passing of the Emancipation Act August 1, 1833. Bussa/Barbados Rebellion 1816 Unexpected The Bussa rebellion of 1816 was not that expected as it is believed that slaves began to plan the rebellion soon after the House of Assembly discussed and rejected the imperial Registry Bill in November 1815 (Beckles 90). This Bill called for the registration of colonial slaves. As a result of this the rebels...
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...September 1879, a group of 20 slaves led by a Congolese native, Jemmy, led a rebellion against South Carolina's slave owners. The Stono Rebellion, as their movement was called, was the culmination of long-running grievances among the colony's black slaves. Political rivalry between Spain and Britain fostered revolts among British-colony captives. The rebellion highlighted the vulnerability of South Carolina to slave revolts In the years preceding the Stono rebellion, South Carolina’s plantation economy forced the British to import thousands of slaves directly from Congo into their colonies. The number of slaves exceeded that of their masters and was pivotal to the colony’s economy. The Spanish king recognized that this vast population of slaves could be an important ally. To this end, he offered freedom to escaped British slaves. The amnesty was aimed to destabilize British colonies by...
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...Patterson (1983) defined slavery as the dismissal of all rights of freedom and the pursuit of objectification. There were many attempts to keep the enslaved blacks under control, however, these enslaves opposed slavery. The reification of black people came about through customs and traditions, seasoning, degradation and punishment. The blacks responded with day to day resistance, revolts and marronage. This essay discusses the ways in which the whites control the blacks and how the blacks reclaimed that control. Firstly, customs and traditions were set in place to make the blacks feel less than a man or woman so the owner’s and the whites would refer to them as boys and girls. Enslaves were also denied the privilege of being called “Mister or Mistresses” and even “Brother or Sister”. The whites ensure that they felt no importance and this also assisted the whites in portraying inequality amongst themselves and the blacks. According to Meltzer (1993) Seasoning was a process that sometimes took place after the transatlantic slave trade, where whites tried to break the blacks, making them feel as if they were nothing and weren’t good enough. During the process the whites renamed the blacks and made them adjust to their new way of life. In this way the whites conditioned the blacks exactly the way they wanted them in order to have control over them. Degradation of the blacks by the whites made them feel like animals. The whites ensure that the blacks were humiliated and had no...
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...Question and Answer Question The role of enslaved women’s as resistors to slavery has largely been underestimated and undocumented. Assess the impact of resistance by enslaved women on the Emancipation process up to 1838 Answer Women played a pivotal role in the emancipation process. They resisted against the oppression from their slave masters and to prove to slave owners that they were more than mere objects and property. Slave women resisted in many ways in all areas of the New World. The types and degrees of resistance varied slightly in different parts of the New World, but it is shown through many slave narratives and scholarly essays that slave women, in all areas, resisted and rebelled every day. This is how they survived slavery. Resistance repeatedly brought the slave woman out of objectification and gave the slave woman strength and existence as able subjects. Figure 1: An enslaved woman Maroon women showed women were leaders in rebellions and as priestesses who rallied troops in the hopes of obtaining their freedom. The most formidable in Jamaica was the Ashanti Nanny maroon. Being a free woman she never personally experienced slavery, but was painfully aware of the suffering of her fellow enslaved countrymen and women. She led a highly organised community in the Back Rio Grande Valley in resistance. She never partook in the fighting but using the magico-religious tactics she advised on the best time to wage war, gave charms to protect warriors and participated...
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...relationship of traits of Africa and the West Indies. The article examines the resistance and spiritual survival of African Culture among the black Diaspora in the United States. While at the same timeexpounding the scope and the significance of African culture by providing a fertile concept of Africanism that reflects the unique manner in which each black individual of the Diaspora envisions African Cultural retention. Herskovits in his writing posits that the retention of the African cultural has been long lost in the American Culture; however this observation is not the same in the Caribbean/West Indian context. The West Indian retention of the African Culture is evident in many of the religious practices that are still being done in the Caribbean, some of which are Revivalism, Pucho, Voodoo (Vodun), Keele, Santeria, Shouter Baptist and Komfa (Cumfa). These are some of the ways in which West Indians have retained many of the cultural practices of their African ancestors. In his writing Herskovits argued that “for the negro to appreciate his past he has to endow confidence in his own position in his country and by extension the world. He must have scientific facts concerning the ancestral cultures of Africa and the survivals of Africanisms in the New World. In the article Herskovits argued that the survival of African Cultural forms was not present in the American culture as it is in the West Indian culture. He is of the belief that the slaves that arrived in the United States of...
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