Thesis: The duties and opportunities afforded to the enslaved people

were based mainly on their gender.

Introduction

Early on, slave buyers in the colonies turned to purchasing female field hands, who were not

only more readily available, but also cheaper. In fact, because skilled labor, such as carpentry

and blacksmithing, was assigned only to male slaves, the pool of black men available for

agricultural work was further reduced. As a result, female slaves eventually outnumbered men

in field forces

On small farms with few slaves, women were more likely to perform the same labor as men.

Usually, however, especially on larger farms and plantations, fieldwork was divided along

gender lines, with more physically demanding tasks assigned to male gangs. Men, for

instance, might chop the wood for a fence, while women were put in charge of its construction.

Men generally plowed the fields, while women hoed.

Chattel slavery was a system under which a person was bound in servitude as the

property of a slaveholder. Enslaved people were held against their will from the time of their

capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand

compensation. Chattel slavery, so named because people are treated as the personal property

of an owner and are bought and sold as commodities, was the traditional form of slavery West

Africans were subjected to in the West Indies.

In the British West Indies there was a division based on skill, gender and colour among

the enslaved Africans on the plantations. Field slaves were the lowest group(which in the initial

stages was made up of mostly men), then factory slaves who worked in the sugar boiling

process. Higher up were the artisan slaves such as blacksmiths, carpenters and masons, who

were often hired out by the planters. Still higher up in this class system were the drivers who

were specially selected by the white planters to control the other enslaved persons. The

domestic or house slave worked in the master's house and often held other enslaved people in

contempt.

The plantation slave divisions based on colour is a result of the birth of children as a

result of unions between white men and black women (mulatto), White men and mulatto

women (mestee) and mulatto men and black women (sambo). Some slaves of succeeding

generations thus had lighter complexions, and the white planters discriminated in favour of

them. These enslaved people with white fathers or white relatives were placed in positions

above those of the field slaves. This was the beginning of colour discrimination in the West

Indian societies.

Body of Research

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For black men and women, slavery was an equally devastating experience. Both were torn

from their homelands and families. Both were forced to perform grueling labour, subjected to

mental and physical degradation, and denied their most basic rights. Enslaved men and

women were beaten mercilessly, separated from loved ones arbitrarily, and, regardless of sex,

treated as property in the eyes of the law. Despite common factors, however, the

circumstances of enslavement were different for black women and black men.

There were many gender specific differences in slavery. They began as early as the

middle passage. The women, generally, did not travel in the holds below the deck, but were

allowed to walk about the quarterdeck without shackles. This had significant consequences as

they were easily accessible to the sexual desires of the seamen. In Africa, the woman's

primary social role was that of mother. In slavery, this aspect of African womanhood was

debased. Whereas childbirth in Africa was a rite of passage for women that earned them

increased respect, within the British West Indian plantation system, it was an economic

advantage for the master, who multiplied his labour force through slave pregnancy. Some

enslaved women gave birth to their first child at nineteen years old, and thereafter, bore one

child every two and a half years. This cycle, encouraged by the master, was not without

benefits to the mother. While pregnant, she could usually expect more food and fewer working

hours. Because proven fertility made her more valuable to her owner, she was also less likely

to be sold away from friends and family. Some historians, however, have argued that pregnant

women were not treated differently as planters valued the enslaved woman not for her

reproductive capacity but for her economic value.

Girls worked on plantations from the early age of four, by the age of twelve they were

fully incorporated into plantation work. They were made to work in various capacities but

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mostly in domestic work (taking care of the household chores like cooking, and cleaning), other

tasks included nursing, midwifery, sewing and as concubines. Enslaved women that worked in

the great houses also had the task of taking care of the planters’ children as well as her own.

Overall, women were generally responsible for the care (medical and otherwise) of the

enslaved population on the plantation. For example, midwives helped women abort unwanted

pregnancies caused by rapes by overseers, masters or even other slaves. Women cooperated

in many other aspects of everyday life. Names like Auntie or Granny (regardless of the fact

there was no blood relation) developed because motherhood responsibilities had to be shared

as a result of the incredible demands of the master.

On small plantations with few enslaved people, women were more likely to perform the

same labour as men. Many planters regarded most slave women as suitable for field work,

which consisted of jobs such as digging holes for canes, weeding, and hoeing. In Jamaica, the

majority of women between the ages of nineteen and fifty four worked in fields. When woman

worked in the fields, there were three levels of field work. Heavy work was carried out by those

aged between sixteen and fifty years. Lighter work was carried out by younger enslaved

women between twelve and sixteen years, the ill, pregnant women and new mothers. Children

under twelve years formed gangs and carried out clearing fields of small items and weeding.

Older trusted women would supervise these children. Usually, however, especially on larger

plantations, fieldwork was divided along gender lines, with the more physically demanding

tasks assigned to male gangs.

Enslaved men were considered more valuable workers because of their strength, and

performed jobs that ranged from building houses to plowing fields. Male enslaved Africans

were treated differently from females, starting with the trip over from Africa through the middle

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passage. Because of their physical stamina the enslavers were afraid of the men and therefore

were more cautious. Men were bound in steel and kept below the deck for weeks at a time.

The tasks assigned to enslaved males differed greatly from those of women. These tasks

needed hard labour and were designed exclusively for males. They included ditch men,

plowmen, drivers, minders, stablemen, few males were lucky enough to become skilled

craftsmen. Positions like carpenters, blacksmiths, bricklayers, and engineers gave the

enslaved men the opportunity for greater mobility than women. Because of their skills they

were able to hire themselves out to other employers and therefore earn money (remembering

that half or more of their salary went to the master) which they could later use to purchase their

freedom. Frequently, these workers passed on skills to their children or kinsmen so they, too,

could enjoy better working conditions. They worked in fields too etc.

Men not only performed different duties than women, but also did not play the traditional

role of the male control and dominance of the female, as enslaved African men did not earn

wages or owned any property they were unable to provide for their mates or even offer

protection. They were frequently humiliated by the beating, whipping, and raping of their

mates. If they chose to defend their loved ones against the rage or desire of the master or the

overseer they would be whipped themselves, and in the worst cases sold-off. This de-

masculization led some men to avoid marriage in the first place.

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Conclusion

Within the period of slavery in the British West Indies there were divisions with the

enslaved population derived from a number of factors such as skills, gender, occupation,

relationship to production, or simply the arbitrary whim of the master the increasingly harsh

penalties and how punishments differed by gender. Men were thought to be more important

than women as they were in demand for heavy skilled labour. Though women could ‘breed’

and increase the enslaved population, many planters felt it was cheaper to by a grown

enslaved person than to raise one. Enslaved women were acquired to keep the men company

and to work as domestic and field workers. However, as time passed the enslaved women

started to outnumber male slaves, in part because enslaved females lived longer.

By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, there were more women working in

the field than men due to their lower mortality rates. Despite the common stereotype whereby

men are stronger and more physically capable than women, it can be argued that women were

as important, if not more important, to field work during the period of Caribbean slavery. The

importance of women in the plantation economy is reflected in the price of female slaves

between 1790 and the end of the slave trade. The price for a “new” male slave was

approximately £50-£70, while the price for a new female slave was approximately £50-£60

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