Owners would punish slaves to encourage better work habits and obedience. Punishments were used to deter poor work, rule-breaking, and rebellion. Some slaves were punished severely, such as being beaten until their bones broke, for minor infractions. Overall, punishments were used to control slaves through fear and division.

2. LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Explain why owners would punish slaves

3. Some slaves were seen to be
poor workers, not doing the
amount they were told.
Owners hoped that by
punishing those slaves it
would make them work
harder, and also encourage
other slaves to do work well to
avoid this punishment.

4. Poor quality of work could
also be punished by owners,
such as house slaves that
had not properly cleaned
the owner’s home.
A poor attitude to work,
such as turning up late or
trying to leave early might
also see a slave received a
whipping.

5. Olaudah Equiano was a
former slave who, in 1789,
wrote his life story.
He described one instance of
slave punishment:
“I have seen a negro beaten till
some of his bones were broken for
even letting a pot boil over.”

6. Slaves were often punished
for breaking the rules of the
plantation where they lived.
This could include actions
such as not attending
religious services, or stealing
(either from other slaves, or
from their owner too, such as
taking unused food).

7. Punishment was also used
as a way to divide slaves.
Sometimes one slave was
made to punish another one.
This often caused arguments
and tensions between
slaves, stopping them
organising to revolt against
their owner.

8. Owners also hoped to use
punishment as a method of
personal protection.
In the British Caribbean, slaves
outnumbered white people
owners by 10:1.
Fear was needed as a way of
stopping slaves from rebelling.

9. Slaves were seen as
property so owners did not
need a specific reason to
punish slaves. Many chose
to do so because they were
angry, or even just cruel.
Other slaves were punished
because they had tried to
run away (almost all who
did were caught).