Tiffany Minassian

Document Interpretation #2: Calculus of Slavery

In the 17th century, planters were desperate to get their hands on any
force of labor that would get the physical work done in the fields.The reason
young men and women were interested in the life of slavery was because
they were promised access to North America. The contracts that they
entered into ranged from four to seven years of work. A man by the name of
Richard Frethorne had the unfortunate faith of being recruited into the
Virginia colony. Barely reaching his three month mark, the regret and
remorse of making this journey took over him. Unable to make any
substantial changes himself, Richard wrote a descriptive letter to his parents,
pleading for their help. To begin with, based off the information in the letter it
is clear that Richard is very unhappy and wants to head back to England. In
reference to the conditions they were promised, the document does not
provide much detail other than the fact their reward at the end of their term
will be passage to North America. It seems that though the young man was
not expecting the extent of labor work and the horrible lifestyle that he was
going to endure in his time in Virginia. One can say that the slaves definitely
did not receive anything positive in return for their work. Although they had
aspirations of entering further into North America upon completion of their
time, a majority of workers did not even survive the first few months. It was
a constant cycle of bringing in new workers as the others perished. The
lifestyle of the servants was as bare minimum as it can get. As Richard
reiterated several times in his letter that the lack of food was truly a big
issue. A loaf of bread was split amongst two men, and at times four. The
agony and suffering that Richard endures as a laborer comes off as a
disturbing shock to him. Therefore giving the idea that the reality of it all did
not compare to the promise that they were given in the beginning. In regards
to how the elite or owners of the servants viewed them, the letter makes it
very clear that their well being was disregarded. The lack of adequate food
and clothing exemplifies that they were looked down on. In a sense they
were seen more as property rather than living human beings. Richard
describes the servants work schedule, which is extremely brutal and almost
seems like torture. The elite viewed the servants as a force of labor for their
benefit and without any concern for their welfare. The servants treatment
was extremely unethical, however it did not phase the higher ups given that
they only cared for and wanted one thing from the laborers, which was for
them to work the fields. There was no pity or grief if one was passed away or
was suffering from a sickness. They were simply replaced like property.
Overall, Richard made it very clear and obvious that the life of the servants
in the Virginia colony was without a doubt horrible, and was made worse by
the lack of care and concern from elite group that promised them benefits
which was never followed through with.