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Colonialism and Slavery in the Bahamas

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Colonialism and Slavery in the Bahamas

Establishing colonies is a common method of imposing one's will on other people or

regions, and it is usually done in order to gain economic domination. There are several cultural

traditions that might be imposed by colonizers during colonization. The colonised country's

people and resources are exploited by the region's foreign administrators, who administer the

area in their own self-interest. It's linked to imperialism, but it's not the same thing. In spite of

the fact that colonialism has been around for a long time, it is most often linked with European

colonial period, which began in the 15th century, when certain European kingdoms created

colonizing empires. European colonizing powers first used mercantilist strategies to boost their

own economies, therefore agreements often limited trade between the colony and metropole

(mother country). Mercantilism with trade restrictions were abandoned by the British Empire in

the mid-19th century in favor of open commerce with low tariffs.

Christian missionaries became active in almost every European-controlled colony since

the majority of the population was Christian. New frontiers, such as space exploration for

colonization, and ideas like "development" and "postcolonialism" have been used to justify the

continuance of colonialism.

When the British cracked down on piracy in 1718, the Bahamas had become crown

colony of the United Kingdom. Many enslaved persons and American Loyalists were sent to the

Bahamas as part of the Crown's settlement program after the Revolutionary War. From this time

forward, the bulk of the population was made up of African slaves and their descendants. The

British outlawed the slave trade in 1807, and slavery was abolished in the Bahamas in 1834.

Freed African slaves found refuge in the Bahamas. The Royal Navy resettled Africans rescued

from unauthorized slave ships on the islands, while other North American seminoles and
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slaves fled to the Bahamas through Florida and made their way there. Even enslaved persons

brought to the Bahamas by ships from other countries were regarded as free by the Bahamians.

90percent of the populace of 332,634 is made up of Afro-Bahamians nowadays.

Slaves in the Bahamas were treated better than in other parts of the West Indies,

according to visitors. Only a few of plantation owners had more than 100 slaves, making large

farms very unusual (Saunders, 2019). As a result, the majority of farmers kept an eye on their

own slaves. In fact, the majority of people never could afford to hire a watchdog. The slave

worked very closely with his master whether he was fishing or cleaning the house. Agricultural

plots were set out for each plantations slave family to raise their own food for consumption at

home. Starvation was nearly unheard of in this era of relative plenty. Slave workers were given

vacations and did not have to report to work on Sundays, as was customary.

However, it's important to avoid painting an overly optimistic picture. In some cases,

Bahamian slaves were whipped by their masters. A lot of the time, it was exhausting. The 1729

slave code stated that slaves could be smacked for minor offenses, such as having to carry a

stick or club, according to which they could be punished. They could be put to death under a

1780s law if they hit a white person. The fact that certain slaves still attempted to flee shows

that they were unhappy with the system. Also keep in mind that the negro was deprived of

something we consider to be a basic human right – freedom.

Slaves were used for a wide variety of tasks. Slave fishermen made up a sizable portion

of the fishing workforce. It's possible that they were accompanying their masters on a quest to

find the rare turtle. Other servants cared for the children, cooked, waited tables, and cleaned the

home of their master. Several people worked on plantations, either cultivating crops or

producing cotton, as well. March was a busy month on the cotton farm because it was "picking
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season." In the fields, the slaves worked picking cotton. The seeds were then extracted from the

cotton pods using a 'gin'. Invented by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin was adapted for use by Joseph

of Nassau in Bahamas. This time, it was powered by the wind, rather than the water. The bales

of cotton were then shipped out to be sold. On a plantation, there were a plethora of tasks to be

completed. There were approximately 50 slaves on the ship Charles Farquharson, which sailed

from San Salvador. A lot of work had to be done before they could start planting the cotton and

harvesting it. Corn, peas, yams, and potatoes were grown for food. They were compelled to go

fishing and to go woodcutting. They took care of the livestock. Worked hard to erect new

structures such as thatched roofed houses as well as fencing and walls. Because of this, the

slaves were kept very busy.

It has been thousands of years since slavery was practiced throughout the world in all

kinds of societies. It was a monumental task to imagine a society without it. However, there

have been a few outliers who have spoken out against slavery, arguing that it is an ethical

monstrosity that should be abolished. Such advocates elicited a wide range of responses, from

mild amusement to outright hostility and even violence. It's not so bad in the Bahamas because

slavery has always existed. Without masters, slaves can die and slaves can't take care of

themselves, so slavery is a necessity in every society.

Slavery is ingrained in the culture of the Bahamas. Those who are more intelligent,

moral, knowledgeable, technologically adept, or capable in combat should expect those who are

less intelligent, moral, or knowledgeable to treat those who are more powerful as slaves. One of

Abraham Lincoln's most famous 1858 public debate with Lawmaker Stephen Douglas stated:

"There is a tangible difference between the black and white races which people genuinely think

will forever forbid this same two races residing together and on terms of political and social
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equality Hauser, 2019). And because they can't coexist, there must be a hierarchy of inferior and

superior, and individuals, like any other man, are in favor of giving the white race the superior

position.

In the Bahamas, slavery has always been a part of the culture. The argumentum fallacy

is exemplified by this reason (the argument to tradition or antiquity). Despite this, many people

were swayed by it, particularly those with a more conservative outlook (Howard, 2018). Even

nonconservatives would perhaps give it weight just on quasi-Hayekian basis that although

people do not comprehend why a civil structure persists, its perseverance may still be well-

founded in a logic that humans have still yet to understand.

Slavery exists in every society on the planet, and so did the Bahamas. Every society

should have slavery as an unspoken corollary. In many people's minds, if an institution is

widely accepted, it must be necessary. It's possible that every society has slaves because some

jobs are so difficult or demeaning that no free person is willing to do them, and without slaves,

these jobs would not be completed. Somebody has to serve as the mud sill, as the statement

went in the South's Old South, and free people won't tolerate it.

Slaveholders in the Bahamas were unable to care for their own needs. Therefore, their

rulers took good care of them. This concept was common in the U.s. in the 18th and 19th

centuries between many people, such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who

regarded enslavement as morally repugnant yet kept holding slaves and to access private

services of them and revenue from the product lines such “servants” (as they favored to call

people) were compelled to generate (Howard, 2018). It would also be cruel to set free citizens

who then, at greatest, fall into destitution but also suffering.

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Slaves would die out if there are no masters to rule over them. The previous notion has

been taken to its logical conclusion in this concept. It wasn't until 1865 that slavery ended in the

U.s that this theory was widely discussed. Due to their high mortality rate, declining birth rate,

and poor economic situation, Northern journalists who visited the South shortly after the war

stated that the black population was in the process of extinction. Some observers lamented the

sad but true fact that the released individuals lacked the ability, laziness, or morality necessary

to act in ways that ensured the survival of their own community.

Although slavery was widespread in the Bahamas, slaves fared better than the ordinary

people, who were deprived of pay. Throughout the years leading up to the Civil War, this idea

was widely held in the South. Pro-slavery author Saunders was one of its most prominent

exponents; the names of his books speak for themselves. Reactionary and racist Scottish

writer Carlyle seems to have had a major influence on Saunders. Even today, the term "wage

slave" harkens back to this pre-Civil War mindset. Saunders' sociological views compelled him

to advocate for the extension of slavery to working-class whites in the United States.

It would be very difficult to abolish slavery since it had been in place for so long. Many

individuals in the United States felt that the slaveholders would not allow the slavery system to

be abolished without a full-scale battle to retain it. That's what happened, if you disregard that

the immediate problem wasn't slavery but secession of 11 Southern states—and that immense

bloodshed and other atrocities did occur (Saunders, 2019). In many people's perceptions, these

sad occurrences validated the reasons they had provided for opposing the abolition of slavery.

They seem to have disregarded the fact that except in Haiti where slavery was removed without

large-scale bloodshed across the Western Hemisphere.

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While slavery was a dreadful thing, former slaves would have gone wild, robbing,

murdering, and generally terrorizing society without it. Slavery cannot be abolished for the sake

of maintaining social order. Slave rebellion frightened Southerners. Due to the large migration

of drunk, brawling Irishmen entering the nation in the 1840s and 1850s, northerners in the mid-

19th century found the whole thing in their own area already untenable. The introduction of free

blacks, who were mainly despised by the Irish, would almost certainly result in societal

disarray.

Irresponsible and unworkable, the idea of abolishing slavery in the Bahamas was the

brainchild of an idealist. Serious individuals aren't going to spend their time pondering

ridiculous concepts like this one.

Instead of abolishing slavery, the preferable option was to ensure that the slaves had

enough food and clothing and to encourage them to think of a better life in the hereafter, rather

than focusing on their plight in this world. It's impossible to expect justice or fairness in this

world, but the people of Bahamas may all strive to a life of comfort and happiness in Paradise.
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References

Saunders, O. C. (2019). Slave-owners’ compensation: The Bahamas colony. International Journal of

Bahamian Studies, 25(1), 45-61.

Howard, P. (2018). Race and Class in the Colonial Bahamas, 1880–1960 by Gail Saunders.

Hauser, M. (2019). Honoring Ancestors in Sacred Space: The Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century

African-Bahamian Cemetery, by Grace Turner. New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische

Gids, 93(3-4), 385-386.