‘The design of a plantation ‘A typical sugar estate averaged 80 hectares (about 200 acres). Most of the arable land was dedicated to sugar cultivation, with the rest of the land used for provision grounds, pasture and woodland. Buildings included the grain house, accommodation for white ‘employees, houses for the enslaved, hospital, jal, animal pens and factory buildings. Woodland Woodland contained trees and brush that provided lumber used for the construction of buildings, barrels and carts, and fuel for the factory and domestic uses. Fields The plantation was divided into three to five fields and sub-divided into plots of between and 2 and 8 hectares (five and 20 acres). nonce i Fields were laid out in rows or grids with centre access for carts (Figure 2.6.1). KEY TERMS “planation: elo the Feld was haod lito rows gids the cane cuttings were planted, The factory ‘The factory consisted of the mill where cane was crushed, the boiling house where sugar was crystalised, the distilery where rum was made, the curing house where the hogsheads were placed for curingDuring the ‘dead season’ the enslaved weeded, manured, hoed, did building maintenance, cut lumber and other odd jobs. The ‘crop season’ (November to July) was the busiest time for field and factory workers and working hours were extended. The enslaved cut cane, Carried it to the mill and worked in the boiing house. Domestic workers served in the Great House. ‘The enslaved lived in poory ventilated barracks or huts made of wattie and mud and thatched roots. They were allocated provision {grounds to supplement their foad rations. Sunday was free so the enslaved could tend to plots, sal in the market or attend church. Maintai g order Planters employed a variety of controls to keep the enslaved in place, sy rENry ‘© Physical: a host of punishments and tortures were applied, from ‘the whip to the wheel, and death. Public punishments instiled fear and obedience. Legal: the Spanish, English, French and Dutch produced detailed legal codes to keep the enslaved in thetr place. © Social a racial class system kept the enslaved subordinate. ‘Whites were superior and blacks inferior. Divisions were created ‘among the enslaved to help assert white control. Cuture: African culture was deemed obscene and savage. Religion: the teachings of the European churches reinforced European superiority and AMrican inferiority Psychological: the enslaved were brainwashed into believing that every aspect of their culture was inferior. ‘The French enslaved laws ‘were called the Code Noir and instituted in 1785, Make sure that you understand the subtle mechanisms of control Do some research to find out about other enslaved experiences, {for example those of Mary Prince, Ottobah Cugoano or Zamba Zembola. ae esta) 41. State three ways in which the life story of Olaudah Equiano ‘adds to your understanding of the trade in enslaved Africans. 2. Give three reasons why the ‘seasoning process’ was difficult for a new enslaved African. ‘3. Describe the Ife experience of an enslaved person on a. ‘sugar estate. 4. Explain the mechanisms used by planters to control their enslaved workers. Olaudah Equiano was an enslaved African whose Ife was recorded 80 we can see what slavery was like, The ‘seasoning process’ ‘rained the new enslaved hhow to function in the routine of plantation life, “The enslaved were Classified into groups, with each allocated specitic responsibltes. Planters controlled their enstaved by physical, social, Psychological, economic and legal means,‘sugar and the trash house where cane trash was stored for fuel ‘A'so included were workshops where artisans made and repaired equipment, Giri ‘The quarters of the enslaved Dwellings of the enslaved varied. In some territories they lived in individual huts, in others they ived in barracks. These were often built by the enslaved themselves and arranged in rows. They had earth floors and were usually located downward from the Great House. The Great House The planter and his family ved in the Great House, the largest dwveling on the estate. It was constructed of wood and cut stone ‘and usually had two stories. Its large rooms, which included a hall, ining rooms, a sting room and banauet hall, were built to allow a EXAM TIP ‘breeze to blow through and were surrounded by a veranda, The division of labour Women made up a large percentage of enslaved Atticans brought to the Caribbean. Since women and men were seen as chattel, there ‘was no real division of labour: the focus was on their ability to work. Women could be found in al the enslaved gangs. Up to 44 per cent of enslaved Atricans in Barbados field gangs were women. The only areas where men were preferred was in the factory and in skilled jobs. ‘The majority of enslaved domestics were women. They were worked 24 hours a day cooking, clearing, serving tables, carying water, looking after the planter's children, as healers, midwives and ‘sometimes religious elders. They were more open to abuse at the hands of planters and their wives. Women were not encouraged to have children until after 1808 when the stave trade ended eee ‘Arrange to visita former sugar estate in your territory. Make a sketch map of the layout. 29ag LEARNING OUTCOMES ‘At the end of this topic you should be able to: * Describe the processes involved in the manufacture of sugar planting, boiling, curing and rum production. «Identify other labour responsibilities of enslaved ‘Africans on the sugar estate. cqxemn _ Planters did not usually replant new canes but used the stems 6 cuttings (ratoons) from the old cane. This was called ratooning. Sugar production Planting ‘Two methods of sugar planting were: ‘= trenching the main method): long trenches were dug and cane couttings laid on them. Fertiliser was added, and the cane covered with soil, leaving the cuttings sticking out, * holeing: holes were dug between 10-20 om and 0.5 m square {five to nine inches deep and five feet square). Fertliser was added and the cane placed in the hole. The canes, which were weeded and fertilised, took between 14 and 48 weeks to mature. Reaping ‘The field enslaved would cut the mature canes with cutlasses and machetes, close to the last joint, or knat, to alow for ‘ratooning’. The leaves were cut off and stalks bundled and transported to the mill The mill Caribbean planters used three types of mills: animal, water and wind. Mills operated with a three-roler vertical system: a central roler turned against two others. The cane was fed into the rollers, which crushed it The extracted juice was sent to the boilers. The juice had to be processed within 48 hours or its sucrose content would be reduced, The boiling house Six copper boilers or kettles were fired up to boil the juice. Each boiler was smaller than the last, in descending order. Lime was ‘added to the frst boiler to allow impurities (scum) to rise to the surface to be skimmed off ‘Skiled enslaved workers kept feeding the fre and turing the juice with a ladle, As the sugar liquid passed from one boiler to the next it thickened with evaporation. By the time it reached the last boler the reduced syrup was thick and brown, It was taken off the fire and allowed to cool. Figure 2.7.1 shows the process of production, Rum .was a by-product ofthe process, distiled from the dark brown syrup, the molasses. The curing house In the curing house the syrup was cooled in wooden troughs and placed in hogsheads which were then placed in a crip tray. Hogsheads had holes in the bottom to allow excess molasses to drip out. tt was kept here for about a month, when the resulting muscovado sugar was taken to ships for transport.Sree ‘sugar production Rum production ‘The molasses, soum and some cane juice were placed in a container and left to ferment. After a period the fermented liquid was heated, vaporised and reconstituted. In some cases yeast was added to ‘speed up the fermenting process. The fished product was rum. Maintenance You are a sugar planter in the ‘The enslaved were responsible for keeping plant equipment 1700s. Wite a ow journal ‘operational Fields were kept lear of weeds and canes muiched Pies cetaing atone ‘and manured. The third gang (children and elderly people) swept the | produced on your estate, ‘grounds and picked up garbage. ‘At the mil rollers had to be cleared of cane trash and lubricated. The different boilers had to be washed and the floor cleaned. The furnace had to be cleared of soot and ash. Fences, posts and carts were in constant need of repair. Other estate tasks (ther jobs carried out by the enslaved were carrying water to different parts of the estate, cutting lumber for furnaces and boilers, making tools, repairing buildings and maintaining the estate. Blacksmiths and tanners were very important on the estate, The enslaved were also taken to towns as porters to carry purchases Women and children cared for the animals; they collected milk, eggs ‘and meat for the Great House. There were other jobs like footmen, ‘coachmen, butlers, seamstresses, talors and ‘jobbing slaves’, including prostitutes, sallors, fishermen and watchmen, (emo Gia suesaT At the end of this topic you should be able to: ‘Identify the markets in which Caribbean sugar and rum were sold, ‘© State the provisions of the Navigation Acts and explain ‘heir intent. * Describe the problems encountered in making sugar and its by-products. Gime Imperial: lescribing countries that extended and exploited power over other states and ‘acquired colonies, using military means to defend and contro} their interests. ‘Tariff: the duty or tax to be paid cn imported or exported goods. ‘The term may also mean the law that imposes the tax. [eseeoneteeireresrme esaae) EXAM TIP | Remember that mercantile | policy stimulated European rivalry in the century after 1660. Markets for sugar and rum Control of trade and markets “The early sugar trade was controlled by the Dutch, who were the middlemen for planters. The Dutch bore the risks, provided expertise, gave credit and sold the sugar in European ports. As the industry became more proftable, the imperial governments sought to control the trade by placing legal restrictions on foreign involvement which targeted the Dutch. Mercantilism Mercantiism (see 2.1) was based on the theory that all rade should be monopolsed by the mother country and foreigners excluded. Imports of foreign goods were discouraged and colonies were not allowed to develop industries. The Navigation Acts ‘The British were the first to impose mercantiist laws aimed at breaking the Dutch monopoly. Known as the Navigation Acts, they were imposed in 1650 and 1651. The Acts stated thet: «all English trade was to be carried in English vessels ‘© foreign ships were banned from transporting goods from England or its colonies. Later the Tariff Act of 1661 and Staple Act of 1663 ended Dutch Control of trade in the region ‘The Minister of Finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert passed French navigation laws in 1662, preventing foreigners from owning property in the colonies. Known as L'Exclusfit was a legal system that targeted the Dutch monopoly, Shipping ‘Ships canying sugar and rum offioaded into warehouses, Agents took care ofall shipping costs including freight, insurance and porterage charges, ship duties and warehousing, (On return ships carried supplies needed by the planters, including food, liquor, clothes, tools, equipment and machinery. All these ‘were credited to the estate. All third party ships were banned from transporting goods from outside England, with the aim of removing the Dutch from any form of Bish trade. The risks ‘There were many risks that planters and agents faced: * fires, insurrection, natural disasters that slowed and/or reduced production,* tropical storms, pirates, running aground and war resulting in the loss of @ ship and its cargo ** Gishonest agents who committed fraud and embezzlement causing losses to planters ‘sudden price drop due to poor market conditions, low demand and glut * insufficient, unsvitable and unreliable shipping causing delays and cargo toting. The profits Planters and agents became rich from the sale of sugar and rum. During the 17th and 18th century planters in Barbados, Jamaica and St Domingue became rich overnight. The islands became so profitable that they were called the ‘jewels of the empire" in England and France. Many planters were able, because of their wealth, to influence government policy. Profits in sugar and rum depended on high prices. In the 17th and ‘8th century the population of Europe was growing, wages were higher than before and sugar had replaced honey as the major ‘sweetener. Demand and prices were high. At one point sugar gold at a shiling @ pound. Imperial powers profited from sugar. Tariffs, duties and taxes brought significant revenue. Historian Eric Wiliams noted that sugar ‘was 80 profitable that it fuelled the British Industrial Revolution, Figure 284] an Engish cofes nouse, where ‘merchants and plantation owners would meet to cscuss tale Dusinesses and rade in the Caribbean, anti Crietenn You are a planter and have just received word that your ship hhas been attacked at sea. White a letter to your agent detaling the problems that you now face. cm _ '* The sugar trade was frst controlled by the Dutch after which merchants from the imperial countries took control. ‘+ Mercantiism was @ policy that protected the wealth of nation, ‘© The Navigation Acts prevented foreign nations {rom taking @ share of other rations’ wealth. + Shipping sugar and rum was organised by agents who ‘took care of all the details, * Planters could become. bankrupt due to storms, devious agents and low price of sugar. ‘* Between the 1600s and 1700s planters and imperial states became rich based on ‘good prices for sugar.