Why Slavery? Caribbean History at a Glance

Wow! I cannot begin to tell you how mind-blowing Caribbean History class was yesterday. First we looked at the differences/similarities between indentured servitude and slavery. Then we looked at the 18th and 19th century Plantation and what this new era meant for slaves. By this time 90% of the Caribbean population was either African or African-descended. Piracy has come to an end. Broke Europeans said "Forget it!" It was no longer worth sailing to "The White Man's Grave," only to find that there was little to no opportunity for you to do much of anything, unless you already owned land and some slaves. There is a monoculture forming particularly in Jamaica around the Sugar Plantation; the most rigorously labor-intensive plantation among them all--cotton, rice, and coffee did not nearly compare. You see, sugar was a year round crop and it had to be boiled within hours after being cut in order to prevent it from spoiling. Slaves on these plantations worked 18-24 hour shifts. Women usually lasted 15 years in the field, when men would only usually last 13. Crazy right?!

I learned yesterday that slavery was not so much about "exerting power" over the inferior, but it was all about work! Work, work, work! "Squeezing every little last drop of work out of a slave, from the time they were toddlers till old age," my teacher said. I guess what they say is true--TIME IS MONEY" lol. Women not only had their plantation duties, but also domestic duties--they had to plant their own food, feed their children, reproduce, oh my. And we think we have it hard today with instant oats, hot pockets, and Hungry Man Dinners! Anyways, I learned how slaves would die from snake bits, falling into the sugar boiling pit, and getting caught in the grinders. There was a slave designated to chop off someone's arm, if it got stuck or snagged in a grinder. What kind of craziness is this? There was a whole slave hierarchy--Skilled Artisans, Head Domestics/1st gang drivers/healers, domestic females, and Field hands. This immediately made me think of how there still somewhat exists a "hierarchy in modern-day Black society," and society as a whole. Dark-skinned Blacks are still discriminated on and light-skinned or red-boned Blacks are considered to have better lives, or have it easier in the work world. I mean, we know this is not completely true, but there are still some who live in this dark mentality. I thought about the violence and division that thrives within the Black culture.
In class I saw paintings of slave plantation life/work by Steele Burden that I do not recall ever seeing in my life. You should check some of his work out. What blows me, as always, is the fact that I was never taught any of this! Tino told me he didn't even learn this stuff when he was growing up in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Censorship is a "you know what." I now understand the pricelessness of a college education, regardless of the "price tag." And I understand the saying that says, "If you want to hide something from a Black man, put it in a book." Sad, but true.
#somuchfoodforthought --think about that. Tell me if you have had any classroom experiences like this, or "slavery revelations." ???? All throughout my "younger years" lol, we mainly focused on cotton plantations in North America. That's all you ever read or heard about--cotton, cotton, cotton. Not to discredit that information at all, but sugar plantations were much more gruesome. Can you believe I have never watched "Roots?" I think it's time to do so.