8/12/2019 Marriage and Family Questions

1/2

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 themajorities 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 moreslaves 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 theirtravelling 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 thatmany 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 thatthe 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 WorkersBeing 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 childwas born, and after the child's birth the woman worked in the field with the child on herback. Field workers lived in tiny huts with dirt for a floor. These small huts were no

8/12/2019 Marriage and Family Questions

2/2

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 cottonweighed 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 veryhot 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 themorning 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 houseslave 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 largesteaming 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 themistress 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 womenof childbearing years were imported into the islands. Overall, African slave dealers soldfewer 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 Africancustom 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.