CHAINS OF SLAVERY

During 300 years, millions of slaves arrived to the West Indies. They came on ships from western Africa, piled up like sardines, and tied with chains to prevent rebellions or suicides. The conditions in the ships were the minimum required to survive. However, many died during the trip, and those that became ill, were thrown into the sea.

As soon as the ships arrived to the Caribbean, the slaves were sold to plantation owners from islands like Curacao and St. Thomas. Their buyers got a property contract that made them absolute masters of the slaves.

Human conditions at the plantations were less than that. They lived in overcrowded little cabins, and the food was worse, especially when they had to work twelve hours daily during six days a week. According to historian Karl Watson, the slaves in Barbados began their day at five and a half in the morning, when a bell rang signaling them to gather in the main courtyard of the plantation. There they drank some hot ginger tea, and then were separated in groups of twenty to sixty people; afterwards they went on to the fields, to work under a hot sun without rest till night.

Discipline was cruel, as can be proved by a written report from John Luffman in the 1780’s: “The white foremen supervise the work of the slaves. Below them are some mulattos or blacks, acting as guards, who watch the slave’s work closely. These men carry a whip and whip the ones showing signs of fatigue or rest, or not doing their jobs well, no matter their age or sex. There are severe punishments for those that don’t respond to the whip properly”.

Each week, slaves received their food ration, which usually consisted of 1 kg of potatoes, 51 kg. of corn, 225 gr. of fish and 1 lt. of molasses. They were given new clothes only once a year; a jacket, shirt, pair of pants and a hat for men; and a jacket, long dress, petticoat and a hat for women.

Those that learnt some craft had better luck than those working at the fields. Some of them went to work with cattle, or as carpenters, tailors, blacksmiths, and even foremen, with the job of watching other slaves. In fact, many rebellions failed due to the internal fights among them. Some had domestic jobs, like servants (especially women), cooks and stewards. The owners trusted them and were better treated than those at the fields.

But, usually, white owners considered their slaves lazy, irresponsible, of vulgar and ordinary sexual customs, with tendency to rebellion, and intellectually inferior. In fact, in many occasions slaves tolerated this situation with silent and furtive protests, like false diseases, slowness, etc. Likewise, they developed defensive mechanisms to survive in this hell. They learnt to always hide their true feelings, and to show an excessive deference to their owners, to the point that many times they pretended being stupid. But they preserved their African culture, thanks to music and religion.

The resistance of the slaves proved that slavery could only be maintained using force, something the XIX century Europeans doubted.