APWH Chapter 18
conditions/treatment of slaves
- 18 hour+ work day with short meal breaks - only people exempt from hard labor were infants, very sick, and very old - rewarded with better food, clothing, or time off - whipping was common (see "driver") - rebellious slaves were openly punished with floggings, confinement in irons, or mutilation -SUNDAYS: time to farm own provisioning grounds and do house chores (ex. mend tattered clothes)
ore details on the life of a slave
- occasional holidays (ex. Christmas); otherwise, NO REST - slaves sung in the fields - no time for schooling and masters were not willing to educate slaves
slave health
- poor nutrition/overwork lowered fertility - continuation of heavy fieldwork -> difficult to carry to term or ensure health of child - disease - accidents from dangerous mill equipment - DEATHS OUTNUMBERED BIRTHS - life-expectancy was 23 for males and 25.5 for females (in Brazil) - "cheaper to import a slave than rise one" - seasoning
PLANTATIONS IN THE WEST INDIES
1. England and France relied on private investors organized as chartered companies to develop their Caribbean colonies. 2. European colonies in the Caribbean at first depended on tobacco exports but then concentrated on producing sugar, which was more profitable 3. The Dutch helped develop the sugar industry as investors, refiners, slave traders, and disseminators of technology. 4. European indentured servants provided crucial labor for Caribbean plantations in the early years, but planters switched to African slaves when the flow of indentured laborers was redirected to North America
competition for sugar producing land *sugar drama*
1. France and England attacked older Spanish colonies 2. 1655: England took Jamaica and Havana (Havana for only 1 year) from the Spanish 3. English had imported lots of slaves and Cuba started the switch from tobacco to sugar when the occupation ended 4. French seized west half of Hispaniola in 1670s -> Saint Dominique (Haiti) became the greatest sugar producer in the Atlantic world 5. Jamaica passed Barbados as England's most valuable sugar colony technological, environmental, and social transformation of these island colonies illustrates the power of the new Atlantic system
capitalism (book definition)
The economic system of large financial institutions—banks, stock exchanges, investment companies—that first developed in early modern Europe. Commercial capitalism, the trading system of the early modern economy, is often distinguished from industrial capitalism , the system based on machine production
indentured servants over african slaves
cost half as much; people were willing to work after 1750, land in the West Indies was really expensive -> former indentured servants couldn't afford to buy land -> went to North America (where cheap land was) -> Caribbean planters switched to slaves
demographic changes (the most tragic and dramatic change in the West Indies)
disease/abuse almost eliminated indigenous peoples after Columbus's first voyage West Indies was the colony that was re-peopled the earliest and most completely - re-peopled first by settlers - then by African slaves
slave trade
expansion of sugar plantations = sharp increase in volume of African slave trade slaves originally went mostly to the Brazil and Spanish colonies -> trade doubled and over half went to English, French, and Dutch West Indies colonies
manumission
legal grant of freedom by an owner -> more common in Brazil, Spanish, and French colonies than in English -> English manumission more common in Caribbean than NA -> largest group of freed slaves had purchased their freedom -> manumissions = large, free, back population in the colonies legal condition of children followed that of their mother -> slave families tried to get young women freed so their children would be born free
little whites
second/three categories of free peoples; Europeans that were less-well-off than great whites; colonial officials, retail merchants, small-scale agriculturalists; most owned slaves
Jamaican maroons
signed a treaty in 1738 after several attacks by the colony's militia -> treaty recognized their independence in return for stopping new runaways and suppressing slave revolts -> authorities in Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese colonies that couldn't recapture maroons signed similar treaties
small operations v large plantations
small/large farms: only needed simple tools to grow and harvest sugar complex and expensive process needed to produce sugar once cane was cut small refineries: used crushing mills driven by animals or laborers large plantations: larger, more efficient mills relying on wind/water power -> over time, large producers had lower costs and greater profits
a "great gang"
strongest slaves in their prime...did the heaviest work (ex. breaking up soil at the beginning of planting season)
private enterprise
success of Atlantic economy in the 17 and 18th centuries depended on private enterprise -> trade was more EFFICIENT and PROFITABLE private investors were attracted to colonial trade by rich profits (agriculture/mining) -> their success depended on new institutions and government protection (to reduce possibility of huge losses)
profits grew when English, French, and Dutch Caribbean colonies switched from ______ to ______ and _____ to ______
switched from TOBACCO to SUGAR CANE and from INDENTURED LABORERS to AFRICAN SLAVES
West Indian Planters
the richest englishmen of this time period translated wealth into political power and social prestige put plantations under managers and lived in Britain -> absentee planters were often elected into the British parliament -> formed influential voting bloc
free blacks
third/three categories of free peoples; almost as many free blacks as free whites; many owned property; surprising number owned slaves
numbers of men v numbers of women
twice as many men were imported than women -> over half of the adult males did non-gang work (tended livestock, were skilled craftsmen, etc)
"second gang"
youths, elders, and less fit slaves did somewhat lighter work
plantation expenses
$100,000 to acquire medium-size Jamaican plantation 1/3 -> land, pasture, animals, cut timber/firewood 1/4 -> mill and refinery largest expense -> 200 slaves at $200/ea (wage of an English rural laborer -> $50/year)
PLANTATION LIFE IN THE 18TH CENTURY
1. Sugar production required larger investments in land, slaves, and machinery than other forms of colonial agriculture. 2. Large-scale sugar plantations were more efficient and profit- able than smaller plantations. 3. Sugar plantations had high environmental costs due to deforestation and soil exhaustion. 4. Slaves were closely organized and forced to be productive through the use of harsh punishments. 5. Slave populations of the Caribbean experienced high mortality rates and low fertility rates. 6. Slaves sought freedom through manumission or flight or rebel- lion; some groups of runaways, maroons, forced authorities to recognize their freedom.
Portuguese and Sugar
1. developed slave-dependent sugar plantations on islands on the African coast 2. introduced this system to Brazil -> Brazil was soon the the Atlantic World's biggest sugar producer
colonization before 1650
1500: Spanish settlers introduced sugar-cane cultivation -> neglected colonies (attention -> colonizing American mainland) 1600: West Indies revived as a focus of colonization; this time by northern Europeans -> Northern Europeans wannted to grow mainly tobacco
chartered companies
1602: Netherlands gave the dutch east india company a monopoly over INDIAN OCEAN TRADE -> private investors were rewarded when DEIC captured control of Portuguese long-distance IO trade 1621: Dutch West India Company siezed sugar-producing areas in Brazil and African slaving ports from Portugal -> chartered companies were an important part of mercantilist capitalism
Barbados (English) best demonstrates the dramatic transformation sugar brought to the Caribbean in the 1600s
1640: dos's economy depended largely on tobacco (grown by free and indentured European settlers) 1680s: sugar became the main crop; enslaved Africans outnumbered Europeans 3:1 -became the wealthiest/most populous of he English American colonies 1700: Barbados and other West Indian colonies collectively surpassed Brazil as the world's principal source of sugar
Royal African Company
1672: royal charter by English government to conduct merchants trade in West African/Atlantic coasts headquarters at Cape Coast Castle (Gold Coast)
plantocracy
90% of the WI population was slaves...small number of very rich men that owned most of the slaves and land MINORITY RULED BY A MAJORITY
maroon (book definition)
A slave who ran away from his or her master. Often a member of a community of runaway slaves in the West Indies and South America
AP Exam Tip
Be aware of human impact on the environment, such as the introduction of new plants and animals into a region.
AP Tip
Be prepared to compare slavery and other coercive labor systems for the exam
a "grass gang"
children under the supervision of an elderly slave were responsible for weeding and other simple work (ex. collecting grass for animals)
competition between Caribbean colonies and Virginia
Caribbean colonies in crisis because of tobacco competition from Virginia (both groups used indentured servants)
banks
Dutch banks developed reputations for security - entrusted with large sums of money -> made a profit by investing funds
large plantations
EFFICIENCY and PROFITABILITY WI Plantations expanded to twice their size (ex. Jamaica specialized so heavily/so much land on sugar production that a lot of its food had to be imported)
mercantilism (book definition)
European government policies of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries designed to promote overseas trade between a country and its colonies and accumulate precious metals by requiring colonies to trade only with their motherland country. The British system was defined by the Navigation Acts, the French system by laws known as the Exclusif
mercantilism
European states tried to monopolize colonial profits by controlling trade ad accumulating capital in gold and silver mercantilism policies discouraged citizens from trading with foreign merchants (used force sometimes)
charted companies (book definition)
Groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies.
plantocracy (book definition)
In the West Indian colonies, the rich men who owned most of the slaves and most of the land, especially in the eighteenth century.
Dutch West India Company entry into the African slave trade
combined economic and political motives seized important West African trading station of Elmina in 1638 took Portuguese Luanda on Angolan coast in 1641
AP Exam Tip
It is important to understand slave systems in general, but not necessarily the details of a slave system in any specific nation
maroons
communities of runaways numerous in Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Guianas
Jean Baptiste Colbert
King Louis XIV's minister of finance (1661 - 1683) chartered French East India and French West India Companies to expel Dutch/English traders from French colonies
majority of slaves were African born
MOST DEATHS OCCURRED FROM DISEASE (slaves had to be imported to replace the ones that died) -> majority of slaves were african-born -> African religious beliefs, patterns of speech, styles of dress and movement, and music were predominant
Plantations and Environment
NONDESTRUCTIVE: water, wind, and animal-powered mills; broilers fueled by burning crushed cane; manure as fertilizer high profits -> nature was more ruthlessly exploited DESTRUCTIVE: repeated cultivation (nutrients removed from soil); soil exhaustion (ex. many Jamaican English settlers were planters on Barbados that moved on); introduction of nonnative animals/cultivated plants
Portuguese regains its territory
Portugual was free of Spanish rule in 1640 and reconquered Brazil 1654: drove Dutch out of Brazil consequence of driving out Dutch: some planters transferred their capital and knowledge of sugar production to Dutch, English, and French islands
Dutch in the Sugar Business
SUGAR BUSINESS: Dutch were early participants in the Brazilian sugar business as investors, merchants, and processors
royal monopolies
Spain and Portugal tried to restrict overseas trade of their colonies using royal monopolies monopoly control -> EXPENSIVE and INEFFICIENT
Tacky (the story)
a slave/former-chief on the Gold Coast led a large rebellion in Jamaica in 1760 - followers broke into a fort and armed themselves - slaves from nearby plantations joined in - attacked several plantations (set on fire and killed planter families) - Tacky died in the fighting; 3 lieutenants died cruel "example" deaths
organization of slaves
age, sex, ability only 2/3% were house servants 70% worked in fields 3 gangs women were the majority of field laborers (even in the great gang)
Dutch West India Company (1621)
Trading company chartered by the Dutch government to conduct its merchants' trade in the Americas and Africa private Dutch trading company that captured a Spanish treasure fleet (1628) and used the wealth to finance an attack on Brazilian sugar-producing territory 1635: controlled much of Brazil's sugar region Dutch improved efficiency of the sugar industry in Brazil and profited from supplying African slaves and European goods
chartered companies
WHY how French and English governments controlled costs WHAT THEY WERE they allowed private investors organized chartered companies to develop the colonies in xchange for monopoly control and annual fees WHAT THEY DID provided passage to colonies for poor Europeans that would become indentured servants RESULT French/English populations grew rapidly
curtailing African cultural traditions
WHY: belief that slaves with strongest heritage led rebellions WHAT: required slaves to learn colonial language, discouraged use of African language, encouraged to adopt Catholicism HOW: mixed slaves that spoke different languages
Plantations in the West Indies
West Indies = first place Columbus reached in the Americas - first region in Americas where NA populations collapsed after 1650...sugar plantation, African slaves, and European capital made the West Indies a major center of Atlantic economy
tobacco
a New World leaf long used by Amerindians for recreation and medicine King James I of England condemned tobacco smoke the habit spread anyway -> 1614: 7,000 shops around London sold tobacco
iberian world, banks, and stock markets
banks and stock markets appeared much later in the Iberian world, slowing the rate of economic growth
insurance
bought by merchantsand trading companies to cover potential losses
tobacco colonies
first colonies suffered from diseases, hurricanes, native Carib/Spanish attacks, supply shortages from Europe, labor shortages
Great whites
first/three categories of free peoples; wealthy owners of large sugar plantations; dominated the economy and society of the island; owned slaves
Amsterdam Exchange (1530)
greatest stock market in 17/18th century
capitalism
growth of Atlantic economy helped develop modern capitalism - expansion of credit - development of large financial institutions (banks, stock exchanges, trading companies) - system originally developed for european business dealings -> expanded overseas when investors wanted profits in colonial products (european economy was growing slowly)
large plantations v. smaller operations
high labor costs favored large plantations (other reasons not in this section)
joint-stock companies
higher returns than banks forerunner of modern corporation shares sold in stock exchanges
changes in charter of Atlantic commerce
illustrates the rise of the new Atlantic trading system 16th century: Spanish treasure fleets and their silver and gold had dominated AT 18TH century: AT dominated by sugar ships and slave ships
Dutch and the Struggle with Spain
independence from spain a few years earlier threatened this...Spanish Crown ruled Portugal and Brazil Dutch chartered the Dutch West India company (1621) as part of the struggle
slave resistance
mainly occured in the form of runaways (individuals or groups)
the head boiler
most important artisan slave; oversaw the delicate process of reducing the cane sap to crystallized sugar and molasses
plantation elite
most powerful in British colonies (ex. in Jamaica, sugar made up of 80% of the exports...this large concentration of sugar pushed out small cultivators [white and black] and was owned by a few, powerful people ^^^ these few, powerful people made up the plantation elite
West Indian Plantation Colonies Intro
once the slavery system became old and the colonies' had modern specialization of a single product for export, WI colonies were "bittersweet fruits of a new Atlantic trading system"
seasoning
period of adjustment to new climates, disease environments, and work routines 1/3 of slaves died of unfamiliar diseases
what created the Atlantic economy
plantation system new economic institutions new partnerships between private investors/european governments new working relationships between European/African merchants new system -> example of how European capitalist relationships were reshaping the world
driver
privileged male slave that led slave gangs ensured that the gang completed its work
profitability of Caribbean plantations depended on...
profitability of Caribbean plantations = extracting as much work as possible from slaves -> THREAT and FORCE
slaves over indentured servants
rising sugar prices helped West Indian sugar planters afford high cost of slaves slaves lived on average 7 years after their arrival; indentured servants only worked for 3-4 (SLAVES WERE A BETTER INVESTMENT)