History of Slavery in the Caribbean

Essay on History of Slavery in the Caribbean
History of Slavery in the Caribbean
The institution of slavery has played a major role in the history, and the shaping of the Caribbean.
Therefore, in order to truly understand the Caribbean one must completely understand slavery itself.
Slavery can be defined as belonging to a person, or being treated like a piece of property, and not
having any individual freedom This was essentially the life many Africans lived for many centuries
in the Caribbean . The master's had total freedom and control over his or her slaves. As a result of
this behavior they were able to run successful sugar plantations that resembled modern day
factories. Until the end of the 18th century many sugar estates used the "gang" system. The owner
treated hundreds ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Milling had to be done within 24 hours of the cane being cut, otherwise it would spoil. At first there
was just a main mill in the center of the country, but by the 1800's many planters owned there own
individual mills.
Laws regarding the well being of the slave were as follows; it was strictly up to the discretion of the
master the amount of control he chose to exercise over his slaves. For the most part, it seems as if
laws were the worst on islands where slaves outnumbered the masters, and less severe on the islands
without sugar plantations.
With so little control over there own lives it was truly difficult for slaves to achieve anything. This
especially included freedom. The French Code Noir and the Spanish laws did not make it easy for a
slave to gain freedom, but it was certainly easier for one to become free on these islands than those
owned by the British. The British made it almost impossible for the slaves to gain freedom. In the
Spanish and the French colonies, slaves were given a few legal privileges. The courts on these
islands permitted slaves to own personal property, make contracts, and buy their freedom with their
meager savings. These laws did not exist in the British colonies.
Without the labor of the slaves on the sugar plantations, the sugarcane estates could not have
succeeded the way they did. The slave in turn, became the back bone of the sugar plantation in the
Caribbean. During the rainy season the
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Plantation and Race in the Caribbean Essay
Plantation and Race in the Caribbean The incredible history of the Caribbean is indeed, one of the
most rich, and at the same time troubling, of the New World. Its incredibly heterogeneous
population and its social racial base make it a very difficult place to, for instance, live and raise a
family.
While some children may have a future because of their light complexion, the others are doomed to
a life of poverty in the unforgiving culture and society of the Caribbean.
Three people have taken it upon themselves to portray the Caribbean in their own ways. The
opinions of Sidney Mintz, Michelle Cliff and Antonio Benitez–Rojo are made clear in their works
and are discussed below in relation to two main issues; race and the ... Show more content on
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Boy is white, and is very intent on being so. He does not help out dark people, and only condemns
them when he sees them. Clare's mother, Kitty is darker and is the opposite of Boy in her treatment
of the darker colored people on the island. She does not talk much when Boy criticizes 'her people,'
but near the end of the book both parents make their feelings abundantly clear in their argument over
the black woman urinating on the side of the street. Boy says to his family, "What are we to do with
people like that." (Cliff, 1984, p.130) Kitty retorts, "Where do you get this 'we' stuff, white man?"
(Ibid.) Boy responds with, "Come on, Kitty, no matter what you do with them, they'll never be like
us." (Ibid., p.131) This is too much for Kitty, who in a rare state of rage yells, "Why don't you shut
your filthy hateful mouth, you damn cuffy. She's probably pregnant and alone–something you would
not know about." (Ibid.) With that, Kitty makes him stop the car and so she could give the woman
all the money that she had on her. This example illustrates perfectly how the issue of race permeates
the everyday lives of the inhabitants of Jamaica, and the rest of the Caribbean for that matter.
This is certainly not meant to be an isolated case of racial incident, as is portrayed throughout the
rest of the book. Boy's racism is also shown in many other ways, such as by the fact that he wants
Clare to marry someone as

Sugar And Slaves By Richard Dunn
Lydia Phillips
Dr. Hill HIST 300SS
9/15/15
Sugar Societies in the West Indies
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the sugar islands played a very important role for
the British government. They saw these colonies as an extremely beneficial mercantile society that
could gross them a great deal of wealth. However, for the colonists living on these islands it was an
intense struggle between enormous fortune and a premature death. Richard Dunn, author of Sugar
and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624–1713, decided to shed
light on these seldom mentioned groups of settlers, who chose the Caribbean islands over mainland
America. The first settlers of the islands being buccaneers, along with their short lifespan, coupled
with the monoculture of the islands and a severe disparity between the rich and poor, created a
distinct culture, in what Dunn describes as a "classically proportioned sugar society" (Dunn 165).
Dunn begins his book in 1624, with the English gaining a foothold on the tiny island of St.
Christopher in the Caribbean. From that solitary outpost emerged a "cohesive and potent master
class" of tobacco and sugar planters that spread throughout the Caribbean (46), especially in
Barbados and Jamaica. Dunn refers to this society as a "classically proportioned sugar society"
(165). What this means is that there were few very wealthy sugar planters who owned and managed
large masses of slaves. Big planters, at their height, were

The Institution of Slave Trade Essay
The Institution of Slave Trade
The institution of slave trade and the actual experiences of slavery that occurred in the Caribbean
were to form a monumental part of that region's culture, society, and everyday interactions, both in
the past and in the present. The culture that is present today in the Caribbean is the result of many
different influences varying from those introduced by ruling colonial countries, to influences that the
slaves stressed, and even from brand new colonies being developed. The diverse and multifaceted
culture that is present today is a direct result of the institution of slavery.
The reason that forced all of these cultures to become intermixed and entangled was a result of
slavery, but more specifically a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In fact many historians to this day debate over the question of whether or not the plantations even
made any profit over their period of existence.
More and more pirates emerged as the demand for sugar continued to increase, and therefore more
and more slaves were also needed. After these pirates attacked slave ships en route to the Caribbean,
they would take the slaves and trade them in the Caribbean for sugar, molasses, and rum and make
their way back to Europe top begin the process all over again.
Because these pirates did not differentiate between the countries ships that they attacked (excluding
their own), they began some of the first mixing of slaves and cultures into one group. Often times
they would take the non–black deckhands of the attacked ship and either make them slaves as well,
or assign them to deck duty upon their own ship. This general small scale mixing was the beginning
to what was to ensue on a much larger scale in the very near future.
Another area that began to increase the tendency for cultural and social mixing was the fact that as
more and more pirates sailed the sea, counties began to send less and less of their commissioned
trade ships. As fewer and fewer of these countries vessels made contact with their various plantation
colonies in the Caribbean, their cultural influence on them

Importance of Slavery to the Caribbean Essay
Importance of Slavery to the Caribbean
The significance of the role played by slaves in the history of the Caribbean cannot be
overemphasized. Nearly everything that defines the Caribbean today can be traced back to the
advent of Africans to the sugar plantations several centuries ago. For this reason it is impossible to
ignore the issue of slavery when studying the history of the Caribbean, as we are doing in this class.
Through our numerous readings on the status of slaves and their treatment by the societies in which
they lived, we have learned much about the sufferings and ordeals of these people. The following is
an attempt to organize my own particular feelings and reactions, which I have previously posted on–
line throughout the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They were constantly being tested and lived very tough lives. Only the strongest survived, as they
were forced to live completely independently of colonial communities and thus had to fend for
themselves. They were also hampered by their lack of women in the early stages, and it was not
uncommon for a group of Maroons to raid another village in search of more women. The
Buccaneers, on the other hand, did not have as many such problems, though they did not exactly
have it easy either. They were more or less "social bandits" and gained international fame for their
attacks on the Spanish and Spanish possessions. This was a huge help to the French and English,
who did not have the power to do this themselves but were subsequently better able to establish
colonies of their own in the New World. The main difference between the Buccaneers and the
Maroons is that while the former clung to the European culture and society with which they were
familiar, the latter attempted to create their own.
The transition to sugar plantations in Puerto Rico came a bit later, while Cuba experienced this
change a few years earlier. There are a few reasons why this is so, given that both islands were
closely ruled by Spain. One of the main reasons given is "...the rate of prior capital accumulation
and the attendant existence (or lack) of a capital reserve to invest in sugar once the demand arose."
(Beckles and Shepherd, 1991, p. 58) For Cuba, the capital reserve

Silver Exchange Research Paper
Silver was the most important trading good, and the silver trade allowed for a global network of
exchange. Silver was one of the most important products to be exchanged during this time. Silver
was important to people around the world, especially Spanish America because they produced up to
85 percent of the world's silver. Silver didn't just affect spain, but it also had effect on China,
because they had to pay their taxes in silver. The demand for silver increased rapidly, and the Potosi
mines were a major global source of the world;s silver. Overall, Silver was a universal currency that
could be traded for goods , and use for taxes. "Silver from the Potosi Mines." Silver From the Potosi
Mines, 4 Dec. 2017.web This painting represents

Similarities Between Virginia And The Caribbean
During particular time periods whichever product rose to popularity, whether it be cotton, rum,
tobacco, or sugar, became the means of buying and selling or trading. Two major products that the
people of the "new world" depended on during the early colonial times were tobacco and sugar.
Both Virginia and the Caribbean were able to be successful and bloom due to these two major
products. Virginia and the Caribbean had many similarities as well as differences on how they
changed economically and socially due to tobacco and sugar plantations. John Rolfe, the father of
the tobacco industry, was the reason why tobacco made its way to America. Soon after tobacco was
perfected in both raising and curing by Rolfe, it became a popular product that ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Tobacco did not require much to process, unlike sugar that required advanced technology as well as
multiple laborers. Within a year tobacco was able to be produced, however sugar took longer. Sugar
cultivation became a business that only farmers with a lot of money could succeed in due to the need
for land and for labor to clear the fields and to run the mills. However almost anyone could farm
tobacco because it was easily planted and didn't cost as much. In Virgina, tobacco became such a
high demand that fields everywhere were used for tobacco plantations. However farmers repeatedly
used the same land over and over, ruining the soil. This limited Virginia's fortunes to the irregular
price of a single crop. The high demand for sugar in the Caribbeans also wiped out all other forms of
Caribbean agriculture. Which led to the dependence on the north american mainland for other food
supplies and basic supplies. When it comes to tobacco and sugar plantations, both the Caribbean and
Virginia were affected socially and economically. As the plantations grew, slaves became a major
factor in farming the lands. This soon lead to the Civil War due to the differences between the free
and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories

How Did The American Slave Trade Affect The West Indies
When most people think of the West Indies, they mainly think of Jamaica, Barbados, and Hispaniola
(the Dominican Republic and Haiti), which also happen to be some of the most popular vacation
areas. Yet, after a flight over to any of these hot spots, one would begin to notice the land is
sprinkled with old sugar plantations, the countries and territories are heavily populated with African
and Creole descendants, and there is a clear division between wealthy communities and their slum–
like counterparts. These characteristics were brought upon the West Indies through Sugar Trade,
beginning roughly around the first English settlements in the 1620's and living through the passing
of the English Slave Trade Act on March 25, 1807. Europeans began ... Show more content on
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After arriving to the plantations, slaves almost instantaneously faced the high mortality rate which
was caused by "disease, despondency, accidents, malnutrition, and the harsh labor regime" (Pares).
The most common of the diseases included smallpox, scurvy, worms, dysentery, and more, which
were paired with the overworking and underfeeding of slaves. The unhealthy states of the slaves
worsened when they were paired with the punishments of masters due to resistance and refusal to
work. In some cases, the situations were so awful that many African slaves attempted to run away;
those who were successful were given the name

Dbq What Drove The Sugar Trade
DBQ Essay – What Drove the Sugar Trade?
Beginning in the late 1600s and continuing through the 1700s the demand for sugar became
incredibly high due to its addictive qualities. To supply the consumers with sugar they were craving,
wealthy Europeans established sugar plantations throughout the Caribbean and built a thriving slave
industry, so their need for cheap labor could be satisfied. Sugar consumption increased from 4.6lbs
to 16.2lbs per capita annually from 1700 to 1770 due to the increasing addiction of the consumers.
Since the demand was so high, the manufacturers were faced with maintaining a high crop yield, but
luckily the Caribbean islands provided an ideal location for growing cane sugar. Once plantations
were constructed yet ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Due to the efforts to colonize the Caribbean islands, by 1750 they were almost all owned by Spain,
France, or England, meaning these countries now had access to and control over this area that they
did not previously; they took advantage of this newfound power (Doc 1). Sugar requires a specific
climate to grow plentifully (i.e. 68°–90°F) and this was something the Caribbean islands provided
the Europeans with; if European countries had not had taken control in the Caribbean islands the
sugar industry would not have survived (Doc 2). At this time, the Caribbean islands were the only
location that the Europeans had access to that provided the correct climate. The landscape was ideal
and led to a high crop yield and without it the consumers would be at a loss (Doc 8). Through the
1700s and into the 1800s, in Barbados, Jamaica, Saint–Domingue, and Cuba, sugar production rates
escalated, but this vast increase was made possible only by the natural conditions of the Caribbean
islands (Doc 10). Still, not only consumer addiction and access to a prime location were able to
drive the sugar industry alone, labor was

Caribbean Rum Essay
As defined by Fredrick H. Smith in his novel, Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History, rum
is "the potable alcoholic beverage obtained by distilling sugarcane juice and the waste products of
sugar making" (Smith 1). Imported African slaves on the islands of the Caribbean discovered the
distillation of the by– product, molasses, into rum. At first, it was thought to be industrial waste;
however, quickly after, it became a global phenomenon, which rapidly amped up the economies of
several islands. Several attributes of rum developed "from its ability to provide a temporary respite
from the challenges of everyday life in the region;" therefore, contributing to the reconfiguration of
drinking patterns among both the European colonists and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Although it was associated with economic status and spiritual ways of escape, it was also viewed as
means of harm to certain groups. Drinking alcoholic beverages led to drunken vulnerability among
all sectors of society. It temporary lowered innate defenses that exposed individuals to all sorts of
dangers. A theme arose from the excess use of alcohol in the Caribbean: vulnerable–while–drunk
theme. It was presented throughout several different pieces of Caribbean folklore, which exposed
images of individuals drunken beyond repair. (Smith) The original function of alcohol has greatly
changed over the past few centuries leading to a new drinking culture. However, these types of
drinking habits were not just present throughout the Caribbean, but in fact all over the

Sugar Dbq Essay
Today, sugar is a widely used product across the world. However, if it were not for Christopher
Columbus, who brought it to the Caribbean Islands in 1493, this would not have been the case.
Before that point, sugar was only produced in Europe, but following Columbus' introduction of
sugar to the Caribbean, the sugar industry rapidly developed due to multiple factors. The ideal
climate of the Caribbean plantations, along with the increased demand from Europe led to increased
investments in the overall production of sugar. In order to grow sugar cane you need the ideal
climate, hence the reason why Christopher Columbus introduced it to Jamaica and Barbados. Due to
the increasing amount of sugar being grown eventually lead to the crop to become ... Show more
While the discovery of the proper climate, along with the profitability for owners, were important in
sugar's growth, no industry can truly flourish without its consumers. The consumers' growing need
for the product over time made it so plantations had to meet their demands, continuing the cycle of
growth. However, the consumer's perspective was not documented among the information used in
the essay. This point of view would have been helpful in further analyzing just how important the
consumer's role was in the overall success of the sugar

The Rise Of Sugar As A Commodity Essay
The rise of sugar as a commodity in England situated England as the world's leading consumer. The
increasing popularity of coffeehouses among middle–class English people, as well the introduction
of tea from China, fueled the counties. England's growing interest in coffee and tea greatly increased
the demand for sugar leading to a significant effect on Africa and its people. The high English
demand for sugar required land to expand sugar plantations, and an efficient source of labor to
produce, creating a connection between all three. For example, if there was not enough demand,
there would have been no point in planting sugar and if cheap labor could not be obtained, it would
not be worth doing so on such a large scale because it would have been expensive and unprofitable.
Since they had all these contributing factors in their favor the British were able to gain profit from
sugar plantations, which worked as a significant contributor towards their economy. To meet the
land requirements the British picked their Caribbean colonies because of their control of that region
and its climate. After finding the land for plantations, England had to find the source of labor to
work these plantations. The English turned into Africa for cheap slave labor. The British had tried
the local Caribbeans to work on the plantations but these people were already affected by the
diseases that were brought to the area by Europeans. As a result, there were not many Caribbean
people to work the

The Caribbean And The Slave Trade In The Caribbean
The Ottoman Empires blockage of the once popular trade route to the east, led to the exploration of
the America's. In the late 15th century, with the European's goal to find a new trading route, the
Portuguese, with their strong maritime power, were the first to venture out. Not only was the
establishment of a new trade route crucial, but so was the discovery of resources to exploit for
European gain. Land empires formed, bringing about the enslavement of native populations, and
control of production and labor. No more was this evident than in the Caribbean Islands. Small but
crucial assets to Europe, why did the Caribbean islands have such a big impact on the slave trade?
Many European countries had colonized several regions in North and South America, yet there was
something about the Caribbean's that made them indispensable to their respective economies. The
politics in Europe, the Caribbean's fertile soil, and its demographics were key factors in the
Caribbean's importance. All three factors were essential in the Caribbean becoming a staple in the
slave trade.
The world capitalist system emerged when Europe became the hub of trade – which was made
possible by the fortunes they amassed through colonization. Having just begun to develop into a
world hegemonic power through trade, credit and market systems, Europeans organized largescale
agricultural plantations in the Caribbean's. The power and force that was exerted between European
powers, particularly in the America's

Indentured Servitude In Slavery
Slavery has been around for centuries all over the world, and the history of slavery in the Caribbean
is one of great density. Indentured servants were one of the first forms of labourers on plantations in
the Caribbean before the introduction of African slaves. Plantation owners eventually saw these
servants as too much of a complication, thus putting an end to white indentured servants in the
Caribbean. Following the use of white indentured servants as labourers in the Caribbean, a heavy
reliance was placed on the use of African slaves. The sugar revolution was the beginning of a new
era in slavery, and the introduction of the super exploitation of African slaves, an exploitation that
was not exhibited towards white indentured servants.
Prior ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
African slaves endured a much harder life than white indentured servants ever did while working on
plantations. The lives of enslaved Africans were valued less than white indentured servants. The
priority of efficient sugar production came before all else, including human lives. The sugar
revolution marked a time of pain and decline for the slaves sent to the Caribbean. The volume of
available slaves allowed for slaves to not be acknowledges as humans and treated as less than

Sweetness and Power Essays
Sweetness and Power Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History
Some of the most brilliant minds have made many unorthodox suggestions. This is the case with
Sidney Mintz's thesis in Sweetness and Power: The Place of Modern History. Mintz's suggestions
that industrial capitalism originated in the Caribbean sugar plantations may seem to contradict the
European version of world history fed to most of the Western world, but is nevertheless supported
by substantial evidence. In general, Western education has conditioned students to believe that
everything productive originated in Europe.
Mintz begins by explaining the process of obtaining granular sugar from the liquid extracted from
the sugar cane. There was ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Similar to factory workers, cheap labor was used for mass production of commodities to meet the
growing demand.
As a result, Mintz completely transformed my ideas on industrial capitalism. As a consumer and
lover of sugar, I have now given a considerable amount of thought to the sugar that I consumed so
often. The extent to which the Caribbean people and land were exploited is unfathomable. When
speaking of a "plantation", Americans usually think and refer to the cotton plantations in the South.
Even those Americans with roots in the Caribbean are completely unaware of the exploitation of
their land and people. The long–term effects of this exploitation led to the underdevelopment of
these Caribbean countries. These effects are still evident today as most of the Caribbean islands are
labeled as "Third World Countries".
In addition, Mintz mentions the separation of the production from consumption. The Major
consumers of sugar were not the hard workers on the plantation, but the far removed citizens of
England. The plantation workers were not able to profit from the fruit of

Essay about The Identity and History of the Caribbean
The Identity and History of the Caribbean
The Caribbean is a vastly diverse area representing the effects of colonialism, slavery, and the
combination of many cultures.
Since the arrival of Europeans the Caribbean islands have been going through constant change. The
loss of native peoples and the introduction of the plantation system had immediate and permanent
reprocussions on the islands. The Plantation system set up a society which consisted of a large,
captive lower class and a powerful, wealthy upper class. As the plantation systems became
successful labor was needed in order to progress. Slavery became the answer to the problem.
Slavery played an important role in the how the economy changed the islands because there was a ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
One big difference between the articles is that Mintz includes the plantations as part of one of the
nine major factors which falls under capitalism of the Caribbean but Benitez–Rojo writes, "I think
that one must agree with Mintz that the plantation seems indispensable to studying the societies of
the area. In my opinion, nonetheless, the plantation could turn out to be an even more useful
parameter; it could serve as a telescope for obswerving the changes and the continuities of the
Caribbean galaxy through the lenses of multifold disciplines..." (38). Benitez–Rojo includes the
history of the plantations and how the history affected the culture of the islands. For example, one of
the subtitles is Hispaniola: the first plantations where he explains how the first plantations were
started up, he writes, "Those who, for one reason or another, decided not to leave the colony began
to think up enterprises that would allow them to subsist there... someone remembered the sugarcane
that Columbus had brought to the island, and he began to get molasses and brown sugar using
rudimentary machines" (40). As slavery was introduced to the system a creole culture emerge and
the Africanization of culture.
An issue which was brought up due to Slavery is the

Transatlantic Slave Trade Research Paper
Later the Dutch, English and French merchants controlled about half of the transatlantic slave trade
in the regions of West Africa between the Senegal and Niger Rivers. The European sailors establish
a system of navigation that bound Europe, Africa, and the Americas for a network of commerce. The
transatlantic slave trade was based on kidnapping and abduction as a major method of slave
acquisition and it was also used as a system of great opportunity to hold wealth, political and
economic control. Many of the enslave Africans went through a lot of horrors and inhumane
treatment during the middle passage in which they were sold for very low prices. The middle
passage slave accounts from Falcon Bridge and Equiano are a great example of what ... Show more
Barbados is the first example of mono crop in the Atlantic slave trade, producing more sugar and
more slaves. According to Beckles and Shepherd "Jamaica produced and exported, in addition to
sugar coffee, cotton, ginger, pimiento, dyewoods, hardwood." (FN, pg Carib. Slave society economy
readings) Pen or livestock farming was important component of internal trade utilizing the animals
as laborers and for trade within the island. Also, the use of a barter system in which they could
borrow and lend between one another. Planters were wealthy and trade among themselves. One of
the most important port in 18th Century was Liverpool, it was considered the high point of the
transatlantic trade of slaves and it was home of 8 sugar refineries. European planters wanted the
guarantee of a home market for their goods and created monopoly over trading to accumulate slaves
with the purpose to acquire slaves for the British Empire, and millions of slaves was brought to the
Caribbean to work on sugar plantations. Slaves from Africa were imported and made to work on the
plantations. Sugar cane production expanded to Saint Domingue and Jamaica given rise to
commodities such as rum and molasses. In 1740s Jamaica and Saint Domingue (Haiti) became the
world's main sugar producers. The plantation

The Dutch in the Caribbean
Assess the contributions of the Dutch to the development of the Caribbean.
The incorporation of the Dutch into the Caribbean during the latter half of the 16th century and early
17th century came on the heels of them seeing the prosperous economic opportunities at the time
dominated by the Spanish. In the Caribbean, the Dutch concentrated on wrestling from Portugal its
grip on the sugar and slave trade through attacks on the Spanish treasure fleets on their homeward
bound voyages.
Though the prime and most active time for the Dutch in the Caribbean lasted for about one hundred
years, they were able to damage the monopoly the Spanish blissfully enjoyed by their; privateering
attacks this created a diversion so that the English and French ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
According to the Dutch innovators, sugar was best grown on land that was near the coast where the
soil was naturally yellow and fertile. The sugar colonies of Barbados and Jamaica grew to become
jewels of the British Empire during the 1700s. The sugar cultivated on the plantations sweetened the
teas of Europeans in the 17th century.
Evidently, sugar needed capital which the small planters of the eastern Caribbean did not have, but
the Dutch came to the rescue by supplying credit. A Dutch merchant would put up the capital on the
security of the crop. In this way many planters started. The Dutch took over the export and sale of
the crops in return for providing the initial capital. Here we see the Dutch concocting a deal with
planters who are not entirely financially equip to sustain a sugar plantation by offering loans on
credit to planters in return the Dutch exported and sold the cultivated sugar back to Europe.
Furthermore, early sugar plantations had an extensive use of slaves because sugar was considered as
a cash crop, and it was most efficiently grown on large plantations with many workers. As a result,
slaves were imported from Africa to work on the sugar plantations, the Dutch responded to the
needs of the plantations in the Caribbean by supplying the labor that was needed following the
failure of previous labor systems used on the British and French colonies such as the use of
indigenous

Effects Of Slavery In The Caribbean
Slavery has taken many forms throughout history and still exists in a few forms to the day. The
Caribbean has had a painful history regarding the slavery of two cultures. The slavery of the region
ultimately led to racism against africans and to the industrial revolution. Communities of the
Caribbean have been haunted by their history of slavery and colonialism which fueled colonial
European capitalism. The impact that the plantation system had on the region has left a lasting scar
on underdeveloped societies riddled with governments that exploit their citizens.
One of the largest impacts from the colonial era had on the Caribbean is on its economy. The
Caribbean was first mined for gold by Columbus when he discovered the area. When the gold ran
out, plantations were set up for growing coffee and sugar to sell on the European markets. The
system is ingrained into the culture.
"The sugar plantation was a landed estate that specialized in export production. It combined large–
scale tropical agriculture, African labor, European and African technology, European animal
husbandry, Asian and American plants, and the climate and soils of the Americas. The typical sugar
plantation was a big–business establishment, both farm and factory. Sugarcane was grown, raw
sugar manufactured, and molasses distilled into rum." (source 2)
This system of production is ingrained into the region and will be around for decades or longer. In
modern times, lots of sugar and rum are still

Past Paper
Past Paper Questions
Theme 1– The Indigenous Peoples and the Europeans
1. Read the passage below, and answer the questions that follow.
The Taino (Arawak) and Kalinago (Caribs) were similar in many ways, but different in others. For
example, their technology was quite similar, but their political organization was to some extent
different. Their technology was not as advanced as that of the Maya.
a) Explain why Mayan technology is considered more advanced than the technology of the Arawaks
and Caribs. (4 marks)
b) Outline the ways in which the technology of Taino and Kalinago were similar. (9 marks)
c) Describe FOUR ways in which the political organization of the Arawaks was different to the
political organization of the Caribs. (12 ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Agriculture was an important occupation in spite of the many difficulties that the farmers faced.
West Africans also had other occupations.
a) State FOUR occupations, other than farming, of West African men and women in the early 1400s.
( 4 marks)
b) Explain why farming was an important occupation in West Africa in the early 1400s? (9 marks)
c) What difficulties did farmers in West Africa face in the early 1400s? (12 marks)
Total 25 marks
10. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow
Africans who were brought to the Caribbean lost much of their culture during the period of slavery.
Nevertheless, many African religious practices and beliefs survived until 1838.
a. Identify TWO African religious practices or beliefs the survived in the Caribbean up to 1838. (5
marks)
b. Why did Africans who were brought to the Caribbean lose much of their culture during the period
of slavery? (10 marks)
c. Explain why some aspects of African culture survived in the Caribbean up to1838. (10 marks)
Total 25 Marks
11. Imagine you are an Englishman living in Liverpool in the 1700s. You are having a conversation
with your son about the slave trading voyages which you organize to West Africa and the Caribbean.
Answer the following questions which he asks you.
a. What steps do you take in England before the beginning of a slave trading voyage? (6 marks)
b. In what ways do some Africans states

Economic Theory Of Mercantilism
The Mercantilist economic theory brings to view the nationalist effort that maximizes trade and the
accumulation of gold and silver at the expense of other nations. This economic theory promotes
national regulation of the economy and trade through the process of expanding the domestic
industry. This approach went against free trade as it practices restrict imports and raise trade tariffs.
Mercantilism was the primary economic system of trade between the 16th and 18th century, and it
understood that wealth was static. Its perception of wealth led to the European nations implementing
tariffs that would ensure they maintained their power through their wealth. This wealth perception
restricted trade through tariffs that restricted imports while promoting exports. Hence, the static
attitude of trade ensured that the European nations imposed their government regulations over
countries that they were interested commercially. Therefore, the Mercantilism economic theory
identified the insecurities of the European nations as the global market increased and their
influences diminished.
According to William Baker, Mercantilism played a huge role in facilitating the trade system
practiced between the 16th and 18th century. Hence, Mercantilism was used to justify the role that
slavery played in enhancing European wealth. Slavery was reinforced through the Englishmen
concepts that saw them superior compared to the Africans, they associated Africans strange culture
with their

How Sugar Had Become A Dominant Product Of Sugar Production
In the late 17th and 18th centuries, sugar had become a dominant product in numerous plantations in
the Caribbean. The French and British continually competed over the dominance in these particular
sites. The British sugar industry finally took hold in 1655, and lasted up until the mid–19th century
(Background Essay). Due to the ideal land masses for sugar production (Doc. 1, 2, 6, 7), a large
slave work force (Doc. 8, 9, 10, 11), high consumer demand (Doc. 3, 5), and competition in the
trading industry (Doc. 4, 12), the sugar trade was able to flourish and remained a part of the global
economy. As shown in documents 1, 2, 6 and 7, one driving force of the success of the sugar trade
was finding the perfect area to establish sugar ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
However, it was undeniable that these conditions were significant in the success of producing this
export. In document 6, Belgrove demonstrated that owning a plantation was a big deal, requiring the
owner to obtain possession of a plethora of supplies and items, such as windmills, a boiling house,
and the amount of slaves and animals necessary. All of these things were needed in order to run a
fully–functioning plantation. The date that this document was made, 1755, indicates that it could be
a credible source, for it was created in the middle of the diffusion of the sugar trading business. In
document 7, Mintz states that mainly wealthy English families owned plantations. Men like Robert
Hibbert and John Gladstone collected a great amount of wealth through the ownership of the large
areas of land and through the amount of sugar produced by the African slaves (Doc. 7). This denotes
the view that an effective way to gain wealth was through the ownership of the sugar plantations,
thus encouraging others to do so as well; ultimately the desire for more wealth leads to an increase
in the production of sugar and boosts the development of the sugar trade. However, Williams failed
to mention how long it took these plantation owners to acquire that much wealth, which can cause
the readers of this excerpt to think that these owners had instant success.

Sweetness And Power Summary
Sugar currently is the leading cause of obesity in both adults and children. How did sugar become
such a necessity that people are damaging themselves just because they want something sweet?
Sugar is also the cheapest calorie a person can buy; sugary food has become the cheapest food item
in many stores, but it wasn't always this way. Sugar was once a costly foreign import, yet when
Europeans developed a taste and preference for sugar, there was no stopping Europes need to have
sugar. In "Sweetness and Power," the author, Sidney W. Mintz discusses how sugar was first
introduced in Europe and its evolution from a luxury to an everyday necessity. Sugar was first
discovered in Papua New Guinea, traded to foreign empires, and later cultivated ... Show more
At this time,"sugar is still a luxury, medicine, and spice in western Europe,"(Mintz 83) yet it is
beginning to become more popular. "This insertion of an essentially new product within popular
European tastes and preferences was irreversible, though the cost of sugar at times certainly brake
consumption"(Mintz 38). Once europeans developed a preference for sugar, they started to move
away from sugar being a medicine and spice to sugar becoming a food. The rise in demand for sugar
followed Britain's increase in sugar supply. "In 1660 Englishmen consumed 1,000 hogheads and
exported 2,000 hogheads, in 1700 Englishmen now consumed 50,000 hogheads and exported 18,000
hogheads, in 1730 Englishmen now consumed 100,000 hogheads and exported 18,000 hogheads,
and in 1753 Englishmen consumed 110,000 hogheads and exported 6,000 hogheads"(Mintz 39).
These dramatically increasing numbers in consumption demonstrates England's dependence on
sugar. Although sugar was originally a luxury only available to the elite wealthy households, as
sugar production and industrialization became more refined, the pieces fro sugar dropped and spread
into the other classes. Sugar was used to make new desserts and sweets as well as used in
ceremonies and religious events. Sugar spread all the way to the lower class as it became cheaper
and more popular. "Sugar consumption as

Indentured Workers
Around the 1830s after the abolition of slavery, over a half million Indians were transported to
thirteen mainland's and island nations in the Caribbean. The British brought them in to work the
plantations as indentured workers, primarily the sugar cane farms. Work in these farms is extremely
intense. In 1838, Guyana was the first island to received indentured workers. There were also efforts
to bring Portuguese, Chinese and other as indentured workers but it was unsuccessful. The Indians
saved the sugar industry from total economic failure by working these fields. They worked long
hours, received low wages and were often treated severely. Most the Indians lived in the English–
speaking Caribbean. Indo–Caribbean's as they were referred

Dbq Sugar Analysis
The sugar trade was positively impacted by a rapidly increasing demand for sugar, along with the
European desire to colonize the Caribbean islands, and the growing ease of purchasing slaves as a
means of labor. As more sugar was being produced, the demand for it in Europe grew at an
extremely swift rate. The production of the sugar was taking place in the Caribbean, which at the
time was being colonized by major European nations such as England, France, and Spain. These
islands were the ideal location for the growth of sugar cane, which was the basis for the
manufacturing of sugar. To help supply the high demand for sugar, there was a rise in the use of
slaves as a cheap and efficient method of labor.
In Europe, during the colonial period, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The location and climate of the colonized islands are discussed in Documents 1 and 2. By 1750,
France, Spain, and Britain had established colonies on the Caribbean islands. (Doc. 1) The discovery
and settlement upon those islands enabled the trade of crops that were cultivated there, such as sugar
cane. Two of those islands, Jamaica and Barbados, had close to ideal climates for the production of
cane sugar. (Doc. 2) Such climates provided further ease in the manufacturing of cane sugar, in that
they generated more product at a much swifter rate. With the islands having been settled on, and the
growth of sugar cane accelerating, there needed to be plantations in order to convert the canes into
sugar. The systems on which the plantations functioned are expanded upon in Documents 6 and 7.
William Belgrove detailed the necessary provisions for a five hundred–acre plantation, which
included nine different houses, three–hundred slaves, and two–hundred twenty–five animals. (Doc.
6) The information presented exhibits that there are a lot of requirements in order to smoothly run a
large sugar plantation, though it was possible. The plantations were almost always owned by
wealthy families, most of whom were absent from the estates they owned. (Doc. 7) The value of the
sugar trade was immediately recognized by these wealthy families, so as a result, they were able to

The Caribbean’s Cultural History Essay
The Caribbean's Cultural History Columbus' discovery in 1492 set off a chain of events in the
emergence of the Caribbean society, as Knight states in his book The Caribbean.
"The first voyage of Columbus in 1492 fortuitously discovered a whole new world and set in motion
a chain of events whose profound consequences gave new directions to the histories of Europe,
Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It was the voyages of Columbus and those who followed him that
brought the Americas into the consciousness of the Europeans"(Knight 28).
Many people question whether the discovery made by Columbus was beneficial or deteriorating for
the indigenous people of the Caribbean. It was the exploration and discoveries by Columbus that
further led ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The plantations were an important aspect of the cultural history of the Caribbean. Mintz strongly
believed that the plantations helped to shape each colony into what it is now. He suggests that
plantations were a way to tie the island to the country that was colonizing it as he states that:
"the plantation system was an agricultural design for the production of export commodities for
foreign markets– a means for introducing agricultural capitalism to subtropical colonial areas, and
for integrating those areas with the expanding European economy"(Mintz 26).
The plantations could also be very useful in leaning more about the history of the people of the
island, as Benitez–Rojo states in his essay, From the Plantation to the Plantation. He states that:
"the plantations serve as a telescope for observing the changes and the continuities of the Caribbean
galaxy through the lenses of multifold disciplines, namely economics, history, sociology, political
science, anthropology, ethnology, demography, as well as through innumerable practices, which
range from the commercial to the military, from the religious literary"(Benitiz–Rojo 38).
He suggests that the history of the Caribbean and its people is confusing and somewhat "jumbled,"
and feels that the study of the history of each plantation would help to organize the history of the
Caribbean.
Another common

Economic Viability Of The Slave Trade System
How Did Economic Viability of The Slave Trade System in relation to The Productivity of Slave
Agriculture Change over Time? The transatlantic slave trade which took place during the mid–
seventeenth century until the late eighteenth century is observed as one of the largest forced
migrations (Lewis, et Al., 2009, 2). The discovery of the America's pursued by European nations led
to the uncovering of significant luxury goods and precious metals such as sugar, coffee, and gold
(Eltis, 2008, 1). The slave trade resulted in African slaves that were trafficked from Africa to the
America's to be used as labor supply to mass produce these goods on plantations set up along the
coast. These luxury products in its primary form were produced at these plantations and were
transported back to Europe to satisfy the high demand for luxury goods (Eltis, 2008, 4). Over the
period where the transatlantic slave trade was active, the relationship between the economic viability
of the slave trade system and the agricultural productivity of slaves offset each other and move with
each other. The research presented has demonstrated that mortality rates of slaves and transportation
costs affected the economic viability to sustain the slave trade which would then affect agricultural
slave productivity on the plantations within the Caribbean. What has been examined throughout the
research findings conveys the idea that in the beginning of the slave trade, high transportation costs
and high mortality

The Early Modern Atlantic Economy Edited by J. McCusker...
On one hand a group of historian argues the notion that Brazil and the Caribbean experienced a
sugar revolution while on the other hand another group argues that there was no such thing as a
sugar revolution, what Brazil and Caribbean experienced was simply a sugar boom. In order to
assess which group of historians is more accurate, one must first understand the concept of a sugar
revolution and what factors must be present in order for a sugar revolution to occur. The concept of
a sugar revolution is one that states there was a drastic change from the cultivation of tobacco to the
cultivating of sugar cane, changing the country`s economy, politics and social structure within a
short period of time. According to B.W. Higman there are ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
When sugar cane was introduced those planters who owned small plots of land either had to sell
their land, merge their land with another planter and enter into a partnership or buy more land in
order to grow sugar cane. Sugar cane could only be grown on large plots of land which ranged from
150 acres to 500 acres in Barbados and in Jamaica 300 acres to 5000 acres. The type of labour also
changed within the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat from
free labour to slave labour. Tobacco cultivation required a very small labour force, but with sugar as
the new cash crop a large labour force was needed in which the Dutch provided by bringing African
slaves. Therefore the white populations of these countries declined while the black populations
increased due to the sugar revolution. Even though the governments of these Islands made efforts to
keep the black–to–white ratio ten to one, according to Greenwood, Robert, Hamber, S, Dyde, Brian '
the ratio became extremely difficult to maintain during the years passed'.
This population change occurred during the early years of the sugar revolution up to the mid–1700s.
In Barbados there were 18 000 whites and 5 500 blacks in 1645 and by 1660 there were 20 000
whites and 30 000 blacks while Jamaica had 4 500 whites and 1 500 blacks in 1658 to 8 500 whites
to

Ap World History Sugar Trade Dbq
The sugar trade was driven by its easy accessibility of slaves, land, and the sugar itself. Due to these
characteristics the sugar trade flourished greatly through much of the world. Slaves were a main
reason for the increase in sugar crops. The trading of slaves was already increasing at the time and
therefore made obtaining them even easier. Document 10 show the correlation between slave
population and sugar produced. It demonstrates how an increase in slaves produced an increase in
sugar. Slaves provided a simple and easy way to maintain the sugar crops. Document 11 lists items
that English merchants used to purchase slaves. The list includes ordinary things such as powder,
toys, and brass pans that could be bought in markets. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Also, this far way land allowed owners of the plantations to perform their business easily by having
other people do the work for them. Document 7 lists four of the largest plantation owners of the
Caribbean. In each description it states that the owners were absentees, meaning they indeed
performed their business from England rather than at the site. The lands of the Caribbean allowed
sugar

The United Colonies And Its Effects On Trade And Illegal...
The Caribbean rival colonies caused major disruption in trade and more illegal activities were
spreading across the new land. The exportation of treasured metals previously deviated from Peru to
Mexico causing the connection between the metropolis and the colonies to disintegrate. There were
two types of societies that existed, the Maroons and the Buccaneers. The first type was made up of
struggling settlers that had violent tendencies, plantiers, exasperated officials, slaves, and free
persons of color. The second type was considered as a trans–frontier group to include, Maroons,
slave escapees to defiant freebooters (Buccaneers). The Maroons formed a successful surrogate to
the Europeans. They developed fierce personalities with great ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Whereas the second type, gran marronnage was very different. This consisted of an organized
attempt to establish political and social communities of European colonial enclave. Maroons
acquired the necessities to survive including, firearms, tools, utensils, and food once successful
marronage was enabled. Between the mid–seventeenth century to the beginning of the eighteenth
century the Buccaneers were in their glory. Transitioning politically and socially, the Buccaneers
economy was greatly dependent on selling hides and boutcan to the ships passing through the Mona
Passage and the Windward Passages. They also achieved international fame by performing freelance
attacks on the Spanish possessions in and around the Caribbean. With the support of rival states the
Buccaneers continued their attacks on the Spanish, which helped the success of non–Spanish
attempts at colonization. The communities of Buccaneers represented a phase in the shift from
pioneering colonialism to organized imperialism. They began to make profits off of different kinds
of animals such as dogs, horses, cattle, and hogs. The Buccaneers succeeded their attacks on the
Spanish by maintaining support from other states and this created a greater opportunity for
colonization. This developed a bond between the Buccaneers and other cultures around the
Caribbean. The

impacts of slavery in the caribbean
How did the African slavery impact the Caribbean region between1640–1985? Introduction When
the Europeans switched from tobacco to sugar cultivation, the plantation needed more lands and
more labour. The labour present came from the Tainos, whose population decreased from abuse, and
could not meet the labour demands. The Europeans brought free labourers from Europe, but they
could not be forced to work under the conditions demanded by the encomenderos. The church
suggested the use of enslaving Africans to replace the fast dying Taino population. The Africans
faced tremendous abuse. They were captured in tribal wars or raids on villages. The conditions of
the middle passage were deplorable. On arrival in the West Indies the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Roughly a ship of 100 tons could carry 100 slaves however the ratio changed a ship of 90 tons
carried 390 slaves. Each slave was allowed five and a half feet in length by sixteen inches in breath.
They were branded and chained two by two ,right leg and left leg, right hand and left hand. The
stench below deck was intolerable. Buckets of water were thrown over the slaves as they lay to wash
away the excrements. Slaves suffered from infections from lying in dirt. Some died or were thrown
overboard. Ships sank or were lost in storms and slaves died. For example the George ship, lost 84
percent of the 594 slaves from the length of voyage and badness of weather. Slaves also rebelled, by
commit suicide and taking over ships, killing the crew members and order those they spared to sail
the ship back and escaped to freedom. The death rates among slaves during the middle passage were
extremely high. After crossing the Atlantic, the slaves were in terrible conditions, both physically
and mentally. They were hardly in any condition to be sold. Before being offered for sale, they were
cleaned up and inspected. Prices were set with the agreement of buyers then sold in the process of
scrambling. The slaves were assembled in groups of males and females and at the firing of the gun
buyers rushed on board in order to seize all they wanted. This terrified the slaves, causing some
slaves to leap overboard in alarm. Slaves who were not sold, either because of diseases or just

The Relationship between Sugar and Slavery in the Early...
Discuss the Relationship between sugar and slavery in the Early Modern Period. "No commodity on
the face of the Earth has been wrested from the soil or the seas, from the skies or the bowels of the
earth with such misery and human blood as sugar" ...(Anon) Sugar in its many forms is as old as the
Earth itself. It is a sweet tasting thing for which humans have a natural desire. However there is
more to sugar than its sweet taste, rather cane sugar has been shown historically to have generated a
complex process of cultural change altering the lives of all those it has touched, both the people who
grew the commodity and those for whom it was grown. Suprisingly, for something so desireable
knowledge of sugar cane spread vey slow. First ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
During the middle ages European entrepreneurs like the Venetians, imported sugar from parts of the
Levant such as Alexandria. However, such sugar producing areas were in Islamic hands or were
threatened by Islamic expansion and this near monopoly drove the prices upwards. Even in the face
of such high prices and limited supply the sweet phenomenon caught on very quickly. Initially little
more than an exotic good consumed in noble circles, the novelty soon caught on across all of
society, and seeing the ample demand and inherent profits in the trade of sugar European merchants
began, on a large scale, to trade in the stuff finding that they could grow rich merely on the profits of
its export and import. Nonetheless, aware of the advantages of controlling sources of production as
well as transport, many eventually began looking for land on which to grow their own cane. They
began doing this in Iberia and elsewhere but because of the large tracts of land and the large labour
force required for the production of sugar and the lack of these requisites in Iberia, experiments
were undertaken to grow sugar overseas. During the thirteenth century, enterprising Portuguese and
Spanish merchants sought to enhance their share of the lucrative sugar market by producing cane on
plantations they established in conquered Mediterranean islands. In the late 1300's and 1400's the
Portuguese colonised Madeira and the Azores for the same purpose as the Spanish absorbed the

European Imperialism In The Caribbean
The effects of European colonization can still be seen today. It can be seen physically in the
landscapes of the islands of the Caribbean, and mentally it is still present in some of the inhabitant's
minds. Political struggles should not be ignored as well as many islands have struggled since their
independence. Today when many Europeans look back at the peak of their country's empires they
see the Caribbean as a contributing factor. While there is no question as to the wealth generated by
the control of the Caribbean islands, one can ask how great these European colonizers were. There
are many ways to measure accomplishment, if one measures it just by wealth then European
colonization could be considered a success. However, if we were to ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
And by the end of the War of Spanish Secession, piracy was soon outlawed in the Caribbean. What
Rediker is showing is not only the European empires desire for more wealth, but also the ruling
classes ability to control the working class to gain more wealth. Furthermore, he shows that as soon
as the ruling class finds a more profitable way to make money, their attitudes would change
regardless of the concerns of the working class. He also points out that "the sailors knew that these
wars were fought, for the most part, over wealth, a substantial portion of which was based on the
key commodities of the Atlantic trades in which he worked – gold, silver, fish, furs, servants and
slaves, sugar, tobacco, and manufactures" (Rediker 21). Once privateering was outlawed, and
combined with the downsizing of European navies, many sailors found themselves out of work. This
led to the rise of piracy, and in my opinion directly challenged the notion that European empires
were strong and powerful. Piracy could be viewed a war on the rich, where men who saw no other
economic opportunity choose to steal from whom they used to work for. During the golden age of
piracy between 1716 and 1726, according to Rediker around 2400 ships were captured. European
countries could do little as their navies were reduced in size after the War of Spanish Secession. The
capturing and sometimes burning of

Dbq Sugar Trade
The sugar trade succeeded due to the increasing demand for the product, along with the advent of
European colonization of the Caribbean, and the use of slavery as an efficient workforce. The rise in
demand for sugar was partially a result of the addictive properties it had, which caused people to
want more of it. The islands on which the Europeans were colonizing were ideal for the growth of
cane sugar, the plant that is processed into the finished sugar product. With the use of slaves, the
production of sugar was happening at a much quicker and cheaper rate than before, thus creating
more sugar to supply the demand.
During the sixteenth century, the Europeans colonized the Caribbean islands, which were perfect for
running sugar plantations. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Documents 8 and 10 both show and discuss how slaves were a major aspect of the sugar–making
process. Slaves did all aspects of sugar production, whether they were outside growing sugar, or
inside processing the ever so desired substance (Doc 8). The use of slaves made production much
faster, giving the people what they demanded. The more slaves each plantation had, the more sugar
they would produce (Doc 10). Since more sugar was being manufactured at a more rapid rate, this
helped the sugar trade as a whole, as more product was being exported to Europe, where the demand
was extremely high. The cost of slaves, whether in British pounds or valued goods, is elaborated
upon in Documents 9 and 11. The cost of slaves grew over time, but when they were sold again, it
was still for over twice the amount they were purchased for (Doc 9). Slaves were relatively cheap to
purchase, could be used to produce sugar, and then could be sold for a hefty profit. Goods such as
bullets were also used to pay for slaves (Doc 11). English merchants were able to give Africa items
that they were large in stock with for an adult male slave, which showed just how easy they were to

The True Woman 's Slavery Essay
The True Woman's Slavery Experience in the Caribbean In history, a woman 's experience of slavery
is often presumed as inadequate and useless. Unfortunately, there are many experiences of women
during slavery that is untouched and needs to be highlighted. For instance, did enslaved women
work as much as enslaved males? If so, did they work in the same field or was there a difference.
Women grew burdensome in that they would spitefully work inefficiently and slower than needed,
leading to the resistance. Specifically, this paper discussion why are similarities and differences in
the roles of enslaved women who resided in both Jamaica and Barbados bring complications to
slave owners. I will attempt to understand the perception of female slaves in the Caribbean, in order
to gain an insight into why their lives and daily experience may or may not have been similar or
different as well as what are some possible reasons why an enslaved females' history is ignored and
often generalized.
In the reading Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery, it sheds light on
the fact women were supposed to work as hard as men in the field work made available to them. For
instance, men were given worked considered "skilled" while women in comparison got jobs that
were not primarily for reproductive purposes as assumed from past slavery readings, but instead
women were used for "women's work" (Morgan). Slave owners often refused to allow enslaved
women to occupy "skilled or

Slavery in the Caribbean Essay
Slavery in the Caribbean
The beginning of slavery in the Caribbean can be traced back to the emergence of piracy in the 16th
and 17th centuries. This eventually led to the promotion of slave trading and sugar plantations.
While enslaved on the sugar plantations, slaves were treated very poorly. Plantation owners treated
their slaves so poorly that most were undernourished and diseased. Slaves were even forced to work
on their "spare" time to provide for their own needs. Needless to say, slaves encountered cruel
punishment that we can't even comprehend. The slaves however, continually resisted white
supremacy causing much tension between the two social classes. Despite this, a new social class
was emerging, the free coloureds. This ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In addition, slaves had to produce for themselves. Plantation owners were quite interested in
reducing cost and they did so at the expense of many slaves. They overworked slaves tremendously
and even made them produce their own foods to cut down on export expenditures. However, slaves
had to do this in their own "free time" which was on Saturdays. Quite disgruntled, slaves had to
work everyday, and on their day of rest, they were forced to work extra hard to produce for
themselves. "The planters perceived it in their interests to spend as little money, time, or energy as
possible on slave maintenance" (Tomich, 304).
Disease and malnutrition led to a declining slave population. Malnutrition played a crucial role in
preventing slave societies from continuously getting bigger. Coming from Africa, most of these
slaves were exposed to the tsetse fly and therefore, seldom did they eat meats. Milk was
consequently excluded from their daily diets and this might be why there is much lactose intolerance
among African descendants. This left slaves with minimal options in what they ate. In addition, "not
only did food availability fluctuate seasonally, but slaves experienced long periods of hunger during
and after hurricanes, droughts and war" (Beckles, 172). One can conclude that because they could
only eat maize and a few other foods, slaves were deficient in the necessary vitamins and minerals.
These deficiencies would in turn

The Effect of Slavery on the Identity of Cuba Essay
The Effect of Slavery on the Identity of Cuba
The Caribbean is a diverse region with a unique history. The progress and advancement of each
island complied with the European country in control of it at the time. The Caribbean was conquered
and colonized soon after Columbus' discovery in 1492. A similar aspect of the heterogeneous region
has been its plantations. The plantations were an important aspect of the cultural history of the
Caribbean. Mintz believed that the plantations tied the colonies in the Caribbean to the European
country that was colonizing it. He states:
"the plantation system was an agricultural design for the production of export commodities for
foreign markets– a means for introducing agricultural capitalism to ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Mintz believed that the plantation system was something positive that helped to shape each colony
into what it presently is, he states "the plantation system was not only an agricultural device; it also
became the basis for entire societal design"(Mintz 27). Benitez–Rojo, also believing that the
plantation system was something positive, believed so because they created an economy in the
primarily primitive Caribbean and it help them construct a structured economical system.
Slavery in the Caribbean also played the role of shaping each colony's identity and culture. When
Europe began importing and shipping in slaves from Africa into the colonies, miscegenation
occurred. As a result of slavery, a diverse Caribbean was created. It was molded by each individual's
island history and how it dealt with slavery, the integration of cultures, acculturation, and
colonialism. The importation of about four million African slaves to the Caribbean was mainly what
made these islands the "melting pot" that it is today. Today, Cuba is one of the most racially mixed
islands in the Caribbean. Could the racial mixture possibly be the result of the impact of slavery in
Cuba during the period of the colony' s colonization? Could the 'Afro–Cuban' culture be the result of
miscegenation, which was impacted by slavery in the island?
SPAIN and the EVOLUTION of SLAVERY in CUBA
Among the discovery of the rich lands of

Indentured Servitude In America
Between 1750 to the present in Latin America and the Caribbean, harsh and oppressive working
conditions remained constant, however slavery was gradually eradicated and the labor system
changed to a wage labor system after the abolishment of indentured servitude.
Although many changes have occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, laborers continuously
have faced harsh and oppressive working conditions. During European colonization in the late
eighteenth century, countries such as Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico had rich mines filled with silver,
therefore Amerindians and Africans were enslaved and had to mine in appalling conditions. The
Potosi mine in Bolivia produced the greatest silver influx for Spain. Due to the Amerindians' little
resistance ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Indentured servitude is a system that was introduced to meet the growing demands for inexpensive
and abundant slaves in the colonies. Indentured servants were guaranteed freedom and passage to
the Americas after completing four to seven years of labor. Many Europeans, specifically the Irish,
came to the Caribbean willingly and unwillingly in the eighteenth century. Over one hundred
thousand Irish workers were sent to the Caribbean because they were prisoners of war during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms and almost fifty percent of them died before the completion of their
contract. Life was difficult in the plantations and they produced cash crops, including sugar,
tobacco, and cotton. Indentured servitude was a labor system that attracted workers because of the
prospect of a better life and freedom, however most servants died due to the brutal conditions before
they were able to gain freedom. Although slavery was abolished in 1830 in Britain, indentured
servitude increased in the Caribbean. Indentured servants arrived from India and China, thus Indo–
Caribbeans form a majority in Guyana. Indian indentured slaves were more common than laborers
from other countries, due to their connection with the British government. After the abolishment of
slavery, slaves needed work, therefore they also became indentured servants. The plantations offered
some food and housing for the workers. In general, indentured servitude increased in the Caribbean
after the abolishment of slavery. In 1917, Britain prohibited the system of indentured servitude in
the Caribbean. The abolishment of indentured servitude leads to the current labor system of the
Caribbean, which is wage labor. Wage labor is the socioeconomic relationship when the worker
receives payment from his employer for his services.

History of Slavery in the Caribbean

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