Colonialism and the Beginning of Slavery in Barbados - Essay Example

? Running head: SLAVERY AND RESISTANCE Slavery and Resistance of Women in Barbados Full Barbados is often referred to as themost British of the islands in the Caribbean. Its history, closely tied to its role as a British colony, is reflected in governmental and educational institutions and indeed many of its social habits. However, British culture, while playing an important role in Barbados’s development, is not the single player. The islands history of slavery on its vast sugar plantations in the seventeen and 1800s has had perhaps a more lasting impact on the nature of its culture, people and subsequent development as a democratic state. More pointedly and often ignored, the enslavement of women and their resistance to their lot presents not only an interesting historical recount, but in its impact on the island’s culture, a crucial aspect of its development and singular identity as a country rich in African tradition and lore—a tradition kept alive by the passive resistance of slave women. Colonialism and the Beginning of Slavery According to Appiah and Gates ( 1999), some time after 800 c.e. , several South American native tribes began migrating to Barbados; most were eventually driven out by the notoriously fierce Caribs, also from South America. The Caribs eventually took over the population of the island. In the first decade of the sixteenth century, Spanish conquistadors conquered the Caribs and began enslaving Barbados’s inhabitants, removing many to work on emerging sugar plantations throughout the Caribbean and on the mainland. Those remaining quickly fell victim to small pox and tuberculosis. (Barbados.org, 2009) By the time the British arrived in the early 1600s, the island was virtually uninhabited and seemed a prime place for the British to take over for their own expanding plantations in the region. In 1627 the first African slaves along with eighty British colonists landed on the island at Holetown Village. Appiah and Gates (1999) provide the following overview: Barbados was a colony founded entirely on slave labor. As early as the seventeenth century black slaves outnumbered whites by nearly four to one, culminating in the creation of legal and political institutions that dominated and subjugated the island's black majority for more than 300 years. The authoritarian style with which the white minority ruled Barbados was admired and emulated by white colonists throughout the Caribbean... By the mid-seventeenth century Barbados was the prototype for European colonialism, and the demise of that system on the island bears vivid testimony to the ability of African slaves to overcome enormous obstacles on the road to freedom. (par. 3) Most of the slaves were provided by Dutch merchants…from Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon. Many, as was usually the case due to the harsh environment of slave ships themselves, died before reaching their destinations. The harshness of the trips is attested to in eyewitness accounts that describe a scene after a gale. “By the time the tarp was removed and the portholes opened nearly a third of the people below had perished” (World Sagas.com, no date, par. 16). From the very beginning unrest among the slave population was evident. Laws regulating the slaves were quickly put into place and harshly enforced. By the 1800's, there were laws prohibiting slaves from leaving their plantations without permission and curtailment of cultural traditions of communication, such as the beating drums or any other instruments. Runaway-- men and women-- were treated harshly; laws required the return of runaways and leniency for anyone who killed runaways was institutional. The Lot of Women Slaves When it comes to slavery in general, history and other portrayals of enslaved people tend to focus on the role of men. This male dominated history fails to acknowledge and even devalues the role of women at all levels of slavery. Shepherd, Brereton and Baily (1999) in Women in Caribbean History states that until the 1970s, Caribbean books neglected women because early historians looked at colonisation, government, religion, trade and war fare, as the activities of men. The general attitude was that the contribution of enslaved women was so minor that it deserved to be ignored. Also, most first hand accounts, being written by men, were naturally biased. There is, however, evidence that there were women in Africa who actually participated in the slave trade. Sadler (no date) states that, “In Barbados 40% of properties with 10 or less enslaved people were owned by women. In Bridgetown, Barbados women were the principal slave owners, using slaves in domestic occupations” (par. 11). In light of this, it would be misleading to assume that female slaves would be treated well by their female owners. According to Sadler (no date), this was far from the truth: In the past it was assumed that female slave owners were not as brutal as their male counterparts. However, this wasn’t a sex divide. There were good and bad male and female slave owners. Some of the harshest treatments could be vetted out by a slave owner’s wife against a female slave who her husband had been intimate with or an enslaved child that was the result of a sexual encounter between her husband and a slave. (par. 12) The notion of female slaves in the sexual context is perhaps one of the more disturbing aspects of their history in Barbados and elsewhere. Letters written by white women living there to friends in England provide literary proof of the widespread “use” of female slaves as sexual slaves. One colonist in Barbados writes to her friend in England: Here in Barbados, there have been several slave uprisings. The participants are usually men, but female slaves do a great many things in support of the cause. In fact, many female slaves are even more angry than their male counterparts, for many slave owners have realized that they can save money through the natural reproduction- in other words, they find it more cost effective to force their slaves to breed. The female slaves are not only forced to have intercourse with other slaves, but masters often take advantage of them as well. Even if a slave were to have a child by her master, the child would be a slave because its status is derived from the mother (Beckles, 1998, p. 138). It is generally conceded that women’s role in the few uprisings that occurred was essentially non-violent and relegated to more peaceful actions. This is not to say that the actions were not relevant. It is interesting to note that even in these dire circumstances differences in the very life experiences among male and female slaves served to reinforce gender inequality. “It was immediately recognized [among owners] that…the natural reproduction of slavery was an alternative to slave trading…that by securing females on a systematic basis, slave managers could meet the social demands of favoured male slaves” (Beckles, 1998, p. 138). In essence then while both were subject to the restrictions of a slave existence, the women played a duel slave role in that they were expected to also service male slaves in the interests, perhaps, of keeping the peace. A satisfied male, as it were, might be less likely to rebel against the master. In the greater sense, women in their slavery became “part of the socio-economic logic of the plantation enterprise” (Beckles, 1998, p. 138). In exchange for childbearing, women were often given perks such as better access to doctors, reduced work expectations, and the option to marry if they wished. (p. 142) As a result, sexual abuse and rape were expected activities for slave women. Complaints about this to the wrong person might end with severe punishment. Although Britain eventually passed laws against severe and public punishment for female slaves, the laws were often ignored and they were publically beaten and humiliated along with the male slaves, although with not the regularity. While many female slaves worked in the home, many were used in the fields. Since they tended to live longer than the men, white slave owners did not perceived female slaves in the same way they perceived white women, as delicate and to be cared for. (Sadler, no date) The women also took care of slave family food production and distribution. The market, where they were found gathering supplies for their masters, gave enslaved women access to news and the dissemination of information crucial to the slave population and subsequent uprisings. Thus, it can be safely concluded that women, in collusion with male slaves and as spies for them, were intrinsic to rebellions, an activity which certainly required courage in the face of possible horrific punishment. Based on available social and economic indicators of the time, women for the most sought and coveted jobs as domestic house slaves, whose chances of survival and that of their children was much higher than those female slaves sent to the field. “Nobody knew the true value attached to this status better than house women themselves, though the clue possibly lies in the fact that many would rather risk life and limb in resistance than be sent back to the fields” (Beckles, 1989, p. 70). Many women died young of exhaustion, disease and malnutrition in the fields. Resistance and Rebellion in Barbados Female resistance can be grouped into two categories: active and passive. By passive resistance we can assume such rebellious tactics as work slowdowns, pretending ignorance and deliberate carelessness in duties. Instances of active resistance are generally conceded to be rarer. These include refusing to engage in copulation with the master, damaging and destroying owners’ property, (whatever machinery, livestock, burning of mills); stealing, and the most active of all, murder and revolt. But to say these instances were rare is not an entirely accurate depiction, for many forms of resistance affected by women were indeed dangerous not only to themselves but to their families as well. It also does not mean such actions did not occur. Beckles (1989) provides a backdrop for the power of women slaves as unique in Barbados largely due to demographics, which steadily support the notion that slave women there outnumbered the men. "It was a 'plague' of female labourers that accounted for many of the problems faced by managers…at the end of the 18th century.... Not only were the majority of slaves on his estate females, but they had clearly outnumbered males in the colony since 1715” (p. 7). One of the most prominent rebellions in Barbados took place in 1816, and, according to records, was planned and organized by senior men and women slaves who worked on several estates and plantations. Beckles (1989) refers to one of the female leaders as “a literate women, most probably a household slave” (p. 172). The rebellion, called Bussa’s rebellion after its slave leader, started in the southeast parish of St Philip, spreading to most of the southern and central parishes of Christ Church, St. John, St. Thomas, St. George and parts of St. Michael. It lasted three days. It is generally conceded historically that violent rebellion in Barbados never equally those conducted on other Caribbean islands. However, the role of women “as visible participants” (Beckles, 1989, p. 157) in both active and passive rebellion against their lot as slaves is affirmed. Organizing and taking part in open rebellion was apparently not the only form it took when it came to women, particularly when it came to those designated as wet nurses and nannies to the children of their masters. “In 1774…a slave nannie described by her owners as a ‘favourite’ was convicted of poisoning their infant…” (Beckles, 1989, p. 69). Other ‘passive’ forms of rebellion are documented as day-to-day resistance, such as burning the favourite dress of a mistress or over-seasoning food. But perhaps the most pernicious form was in the surreptitious singing of songs as they worked, and in the process, keeping African tribal traditions alive despite being forbidden to do so by their masters. This forbidding of the passing down of religious and traditional legacies by masters only served to enhance its meaning for slaves. These practices generally fell to the women, who through songs and dance kept alive their relationships with the old gods and traditions which in itself was a clear form of passive resistance. They were strong women who felt it their duty to uphold traditional values. However, in their passivity it should not be assumed that they were not willing to do the ultimate to resist their lot as slaves. “…some took drastic action against themselves and their families – taking poison to induce abortions or killing their own children to prevent a life of slavery and abuse” (Sadler, no date, p. 7). This was very courageous, since they knew that any resistance, even perceived resistance, would be dealt with harshly. Mary Prince in her letters to England wrote of a pregnant slave who had intentionally allowed a master’s cow to escape and was whipped. Perhaps because of future rebellious acts, she later died from further beatings, according to Prince. (Beckles, 1989, p. 78). It is important to note that female slaves in Barbados and elsewhere had their counterpart champions among women of the Abolitionist movement such as Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft writes: We are particularly interested in the plight of female slaves. Black women in the West Indies are doubly wronged: they are both plantation and sexual slaves. Not only are women forced to work in the fields, but they must submit to their masters’ desires. I have received a letter from an acquaintance in Barbados telling me about the tension between masters and their female slaves: our sisters are suffering!...Here in Bristol we have organized a massive boycott of slave-produced products, most notably sugar… (Grant, 1996, p. 65). Despite the fact that powerful women in Europe sought to alleviate the plight of female slaves in Barbados, including Mary Prince and Wollstonecraft, the sexual exploitation of African women, the misery of the fields, the harsh punishment and tortures exacted by slave owners went on fairly unabated through the 19th century. Nor is it correct to say that rebellions and resistance by women necessarily brought about the end of slavery over night. Their resistance could not belie the fact that countless women watched malnourished children die well before puberty of malnutrition and lack of health care. In discussing slave resistance, it is important to recognize one of the things that made slaves feel they could no longer live as slaves, that being tradition. Since women upheld tradition, it is also important to acknowledge their contribution to the struggle as one, real, and two, as having passed on to their children the essence of their cultural roots—the essence of the self-empowerment that later led to freedom. The ability of the slave woman to withstand punishments, maintain cultural identity, resist the master, and assume authoritative roles within the slave community was the hallmark of her true ability to resist. It also formed the basis for movements in the future, after abolition, for women of note to pick up the torch and carry it onward. All of this must be considered within the context of courage and the disputed notion that women slaves did not share equally in harsh punishment with their male counterparts. Turnbull (no date) writes: The whip used was made of plaited cow-skin. Some overseers report that it was so strong, that it could take the skin off horses back, or lay marks in a "deal board." At times women ran away to protest whippings or escape other mistreatment. Running away was looked at as a serious crime, and many slaves were punished in various ways. Some female slaves was punished so badly that they were left to die. An observer remembered "a woman lying down and groaning…her left side, where she had been most whipped appeared in a most mortifying state, and almost covered with worms." Slave owners and overseers also assaulted enslaved women with ebony brushes, which were known to be far worse than thorn brushes. The back of one slave woman in Jamaica, flogged with such a brush, was described as being taken off, down to her heels. (par. 4). Conclusion In the final analysis, one can not say if females or male slaves suffered more under conditions in Barbados. However, from details about the lives of female slaves and their resistance to the dehumanizing conditions of slavery itself, one might see the chaotic punishments and assaults by masters and mistresses, particularly the sexual humiliation and forced pairing and prostitution, as a worse fate than that of the males. While males were often worked to death, so were the females in the field. Those “lucky” enough to become house servants were subject to the whims of the master, and, the whims of the master’s feelings about doling women out to male slaves for their sexual gratification—not an indignity suffered by male slaves. Her misery was endless and her fate uncertain, for she had even more to bear in this respect. Children were her purview. If she was forced to have twenty, she was responsible for their care. Rebellion, it would seem, was unisex and conspiratorial, with women leaders often organizing the effort. But it was the passive resistance of women that in the end succeeded most successfully; and it was the women and their strength and determination to be free members of the society and economy that perhaps in the end won the day. References Appiah, A.K and Gates, H.L. Jr. (1999) Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at: (Accessed 25 April 2011) Barbados.org. (2009). An abbreviated history of Barbados. Available at: (Accessed 20 April 2011). Beckles, Mc D. H. (1989). Natural rebels: A social history of enslaved Black women in Barbados. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Beckles, Mc D. H. (1998). Taking Liberties: enslaved women and anti-slavery in the Caribbean." Gender and Imperialism. Ed: Clare Midgley. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Grant, J. (1996) Women, migration, and empire. Ed: Joan Grant. Staffordshire: Trentham Books. Sadler, N. (no date). Women and their forgotten role in slavery. Sands of Time Consultancy. Available at: (Accessed 21 April 2011) Shepherd, V., Brereton, B. and Bailey, B. (1999). Engenderiing history: Caribbean women in historical perspective. New York: St. Martins’s Press. Turnbull, H. (no date). Cannot destroy my spirit: Punishments suffered by slave women. Available at: (Accessed 22 April 2011). World Sagas.com (no date) 3 slave ships. Available at: (Accessed 20 April 2011). Read More