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Sugar estate and Emancipation

Gender was an organisational principle on sugar


estate. Still remains an organisational principle in
the Caribbean today…..

Sugar estate divided into FIVE parts


• 1. The Great House (women predominated)
• 2. The Fields (Men AND women worked in Gangs)
• 3.The Refinery (women predominated in menial tasks)
• 4. The Enslaved huts (women predominated)
• 5. The Penns (boys predominated)
EMANCIPATION

• In the British Caribbean this came between 1834, when a law was
passed by the British Parliament to abolish slavery throughout the
empire, and 1838, when the apprenticeship system collapsed
prematurely.
APPRENTICESHIP
• The apprenticeship system was designed to ease the transition from slavery
to freedom by forcing the ex-slaves to remain on their plantations. Its main
purpose was to prevent the immediate large-scale abandonment of estates
by the workers.

Conditions:
Slaves legally obligated to work without compensation for their former maste
rs for up to forty‐five hours per week.
Compulsory labour depended on their status; former field slaves
(praedials) were to be apprenticed for six years while skilled
apprentices and domestics (non‐praedials) were to be fully free after four years.
The system of Apprenticeship was an additional form of
compensation.

Time to prepare the ex‐slaves for freedom.


ERIC WILLIAMS’ THESIS
• Williams' arguments about Emancipation:
1) slavery was a way of exploiting workers and racism was thus "a
consequence, not the cause of slavery"
2) profits earned in the slave trade and in the colonies helped finance
British industrialization

Capitalism and Slavery


• It was written to strike a blow for Caribbean independence by showing that
England's "civilizing mission" to its subjects in the islands was a fraud.
• England could claim no civilizing mission, its civilization was corrupt, rooted
in slavery.
• Williams' purpose was not to explain England's industrial revolution, but to
strike a blow for Caribbean independence by exposing England's "great
tradition" for the vile thing that it was.
Legacy of Slavery

Agriculture Food Achievements


Rice Spices Through education - African
Herding Okra, black eyed peas people found their voice.
Basketry Rice Occupied the most prestigious
Working Style (cooperative Gumbo, jambalaya positions in the region
labor) Ash and hot cakes Advocating for equal rights
Planting (heel to toe) Sweet potato pie

Music Religion Tales and Words


Drum Call and response patterns Trickster takes
Blues/Jazz Emotional services (Anansi the Spider)
Call and response Spirits Creole Language
Spirituals Voodoo
Labour Problems in the Post Emancipation period
Before emancipation, all territories in the British West Indies
could be classified as the same because they were all plantation
economies based on slave labour.
After emancipation island separateness developed as each island
began to take different turns to develop.
Attitudes of the ex- slaves

• Ex-slaves wanted to turn their backs on the plantation which they


associated with slavery and cruelty.
• They had a desire for personal liberty and land ownership.
• Those who chose to both live and work on plantations were forced
to pay high rents on estate houses.
• Ex slaves longed to acquire an education because it would free
them from bondage to the soil.
• Parents believed that it would have been too late for them to
progress through education but not for their children.
• In general, plantation life affected the slaves so much that slaves
tried to own land of their own as a means of securing their own
property.
What did ex slaves do to survive after emancipation?
• Some remained on plantations to work for wages
• Some became peasant farmers and grew crops to sell
• Female ex slaves would get jobs sewing, making handicraft,
peddling items and shop keeping
• Male ex slaves would get involved in small trading, peddling and
shop keeping
• Ex slaves would get together and combine money to buy large
plots of land that were too expensive to buy individually and
split the land among themselves. Sou sou
Problems affecting the sugar industry

Increasing cost of sugar production

Increasing debts

Shortage of a regular, relatively cheap supply of labour

Decline in markets for West Indian sugar


• Preferential duties (taxes) on West Indian sugar were removed under the
Sugar Duties Equalization Act of 1846. This meant that sugar sold in Britain
was to be sold at one price with no taxes added on. Sugar from British
Caribbean colonies had to compete with the cheaper sugar being produced in
Cuba, Brazil and other parts of the world. The British West Indies could no
longer compete against much larger suppliers.
Possible Solutions
• Alternative labour sources
• Mechanization of production
Steam mills replaced mills that were run by animals (such as cow
drawn mills) New equipment was installed.
• Introduction of new varieties of cane
Attempts were made to improve the varieties of cane so that cane
had higher sugar content
New farming techniques
different types of fertilizers
irrigation schemes
proper drainage systems
Possible Solutions

Amalgamation of estates
Similar estates were joined together to form larger ones. This
allowed for more efficient use of factory equipment and generally
better management of estates. It also meant that labour was more
readily available and estates could share marketing facilities.
West Indian planters attempted to establish newer markets
Some planters turned to the USA to export their sugar. As the USA is
relatively close to the West Indies, transport costs were lower and
prices were better than when supplying to Britain for example.
Technical advice
Departments of agriculture were established by some governments.
Outcome of these improvements to the sugar
industry

• Despite all of the measures mentioned, production of sugar in


the British Caribbean colonies declined in the years just before
and after emancipation. From 1831 and 1838, there was an
overall decline of 20% and by 1842 this decline had reached
40%.
Immigration schemes

British immigration schemes:

• The Madierans from 1835 to 1852


• The Chinese from 1852 to 1893
• The Africans - 1841-1869
• The Indians from 1845 to 1917

Gender was also an organizational principle


Task men did was higher paid
Women were controlled in Barack yard
How did slavery differ from Indenture servitude?

Indentured Servitude Slavery


Contracted Time Period For life/freedom was not
contractual.
Could be bought, sold, or leased.

Could be punished by whipping.

Were allowed to own property. Not property owners.

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