Week 11 Assignment

After reading Chapter 10 in the textbook (pages 125-142), answer the following questions:
(1) Read Table 16. Where did most of the slaves go? Be specific about the country.
(2) What was the "Middle Passage"? Put it in context of the entire trade.
(3) Compare and contrast the life of a field slave with the life of an urban slave.
(4) Why did Caribbean slaves produce so few children? (There were several reasons. Use
emphatic orders i.e. give major reasons before minor ones.)

Due next Monday, @ 1:00 am
1. During the slave trade most slaves were sent to the continent of South America and the
majorities were sent to the country of Brazil.
2. The middle passage was the route used to transport blacks to the Americas by slave ships.
It became known as the Middle Passage because it was the middle leg of the Triangular
Trade used by the European traders. The African slaves were viewed as cargo by the
traders and were packed into the ships with no regard to their basic human rights. Slave
ships could be either 'tight pack' or 'loose pack'. A 'tight pack' could hold many more
slaves than the 'loose pack' because the amount of space allocated to each slave was
considerably less, but more slaves would die on route to the Americas. Many slaves
became seasick, developed diarrhea and contracted other diseases because of their
travelling conditions. Unable to move because they were chained into their positions by
shackles, the slave's deck became a putrid mass of human excretion. Slaves, who had
developed sores where their chains had rubbed their skin, had festering wounds often
with maggots eating away their flesh. Conditions on the slave ships were so bad that
many slaves decided they would prefer to die and tried to starve themselves by refusing
to eat or by jumping overboard. However, slaves that would not eat were whipped or
force fed and the traders and ship owners began fixing nets to the sides of the boat so that
the slaves could not jump overboard. Slaves had no choice but to endure the horrific
conditions. Suicide was the only option for the Africans.
3. Field Workers
Being a field slave was not at all easy. A field slave worked from sunrise to sunset, but
during harvest, they worked an eighteen-hour day. A field worker was out in the field
when the first sign of light shone until it was too dark to see. Women field workers
worked the same hours as men. Pregnant women were expected to work until the child
was born, and after the child's birth the woman worked in the field with the child on her
back. Field workers lived in tiny huts with dirt for a floor. These small huts were no
protection against the cold winter winds. Slaves slept on rough blankets inside the hut.
On Saturday nights slaves from different plantations usually came together to have a
meeting. After a day on a cotton plantation the slaves got in a line to have their cotton
weighed and receive their daily food. The minimum amount of cotton to be picked in one
day was 200 pounds. The field slaves were driven all day long by a white overseer with a
whip. At about the age of twelve a child's work became almost the same as an adult's.
Slaves got Sundays off and maybe parts of Saturday unless it was during harvest. On very
hot days slaves might be given one to two hours off at midday. Slaves sometimes hunted
and fished during their free time. A field worker's day was filled with hard work.
House Slaves
Most house slaves were living under better conditions than field workers. However,
house slaves did not get Sunday off and usually attended church with the master and
mistress. House slaves cleaned, cooked, served meals, and took care of the children.
Some house slaves lived in attics, closets, or corners in the big house even if their
families lived in the quarters. A cook's day was long and hard. A cook got up early in the
morning to cook breakfast, and the day ended with cleaning up after dinner and gathering
firewood for the next day. These slaves sometimes stole food from the owner. A house
slave had a better opportunity to learn how to read and write. They often listened in on
their owner's conversations so they were able to warn field slaves of the owner auctioning
certain slaves and other important things. House slaves did many other things such as:
waited on tables, washed, ironed, took up and put down carpets, hauled the large
steaming pots for the preservation of fruits, lifted the barrels with cucumbers soaking in
brine, opened up the barrels of flour, swept floors, dusted furniture, hoed and weeded
gardens, and collected the chicken eggs. They also took care of the infants allowing the
mistress to do whatever she wanted. These slaves also weaved quilted and spun linens.
Although house slaves had more privileges, being a house slave was not much, if any
easier than being a field worker.
4. Caribbean slaves produced few children. The slave population fell each year. Few women
of childbearing years were imported into the islands. Overall, African slave dealers sold
fewer women than men to European traders. When they did put women on sale, they
generally proffered only those who already were mature adults. After they arrived in the
Caribbean, a poor diet and the physical stress of sugar planting reduced fertility among
both men and women and also caused many stillbirths. West Indians retained the African
custom of prolonged breast-feeding, which also reduced fertility. Lack of opportunity
may also have prevented conception, since slave unions often were irregular and short-
lived.