African-American slave Women in colonial America

Presented by: Ayachi Nassib and Dhaoui InesSupervised by: Mrs. Saloua Cherif

Outline:1. A short overview of the history of slavery a. In the North b. In the South2. Slave Women and labour a. The role of Slave Women in the agricultural field b. The role of Slave Women in the domestic field c. The role of Slave Women in midwifery and doctoring3. The impact of slavery on African-American women. a. At the psychological level b. At the physical level c. At the financial level d. At the social level4. Conclusion

A short overview of the history of slavery The first African slaves landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619.At the beginning, the number of slaves imported was small, but with the development of the plantation system in the Southern colonies in the latter half of the 17th century, the number of Africans imported as agricultural slave labourers increased.

In the NorthIn the northern colonies, slaves were used as domestics and in trade.

In the SouthIn the southern colonies, they were used more in agriculture, almost all slaves were used to work tobacco, corn, potatoes, silk, rice and indigo plantations.

Slave women and labourSlave women played an integral part in Americas colonial historySlave women did a variety of heavy labour and occupied jobs which were also assumed by menScholars consider that female slaves faced additional responsibilities and even more challenges than some male slaves.

Despite the variety of heavy labour women slaves had to occupy, they were physically, sexually, emotionally abused from masters and mistresses, overseers, male slaves and members of the masters family.Whenever a slave escapes, slave owners placed advertisements in such newspapers as the Georgio Gazette either seeking the return of fugitive females or offering them for sale.

The role of Slave Women in the agricultural fieldAfrican American women in colonial America did the same kind of work as men.

They prepared fields, planted seeds, cleaned ditches, hoed, plowed, picked cotton , cut and tied rice stalks.

Slave women cultivated silk, rice, indigo, and worked in cotton fields.

Women did not only hoed and shovelled but they cut down trees they were used as lumber-jacks.

Solomon Northrop, a kidnapped slave, knew women who wielded the ax so perfectly that the largest oak fell before their well-director blows.

A picture of slave women in cotton fields Commenting on the work of female slaves on his estate, one planter noted that women usually picked more cotton than men.

The role of Slave Women in the domestic fieldHouse servants spent time tending to the needs of their plantation mistresses: dressing them, combing their hair sewing their clothing

Cooking was definitely a female work, good cooks were highly respected by both blacks and whites.

All females at one time or another had to spin and weave

They had to make their families clothes and if one of them sews well, she does the white familys clothes or can be hired out and allowed to keep a portion of the profit she brought to the master or mistress.

The role of Slave women in midwifery and doctoringWomen slaves have also occupied jobs such as midwifery and doctoring

Clara Walker, a former slave, remembered that she trained for five years under a doctor who became so lazy after she had mastered the job. He would sit down and let her do all the work.After her apprenticeship ended she delivered for both slaves and whitesOther midwives learned it from a female relative, often their mother, and then in turn passed the skill on to another female relative.

Were Black Women reward in counter part?Although women occupied the different positions and succeeded in asserting theirselves, black women were still denigrated and multi-oppressed/victimized by the different societal members : - white male - white female - black male

The impact of slavery on African American Women: 1/ At the psychological level: Profound feelings of sorrow: Ellen Craft a fugitive slave from Georgia claims: The fact that another man had the power to tear from our cradle the new-born babyand sell in the shamble like a brutehaunted us for years.

Suicide and a will to die Suicide Many women committed suicide. Ant Nelli who starved herself to death rather than permit her owner to repeatedly abuse her. A will to die: This is expressed throughout the Negro Spirituals ( religious songs sung by African Americans since the earliest days of slavery)

Ive got two wings for to veil my face Ive got two wings for to fly away

Strength and self reliance: Strength:

Suki, a slave woman whose actions kept Master from sexually abusing other enslaved women.Lucy, one old slave had more control over female slave than her master. Self reliance:Eliza Overtone, an ex slave, remembered how her mother stole, slaughtered and cooked one of her masters hogs. Unlike many slave women who succumbed to pessimism and despair, many others derived their strength from this harshness. Harshness Slaves resistance freedom .

2/ At the physical level:An ex-slave said that female slaves often were in the fields before five in the morning and in the evening they worked as late as nine in the summer and seven in winter.

Due to the very hard work they performed, many women became physically disabled.

3/ At the Financial level:Women slaves were also financially independent from men, they earned money from selling baskets they have woven or from cutting cordwood or burning coal for blacksmiths.

4/ At the Social level:Women were able to rank and order themselves independently from men

Women slaves developed a sense of community and respect toward each other. -When women sewed, they usually did so with other women - One ex- slave said: Women gathered, independent of male slaves to do washing.

Blassingame in his book The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South reported that slaves usually shared their few goods, rarely stole from each other, and the strong helped the weak.

Jane Pyatt, a formerly enslaved women noted: The real character of a slave was brought out by the respect that they had for each otherthey were for the most part truthful, loving and respectful to one another.

But at the same time, Harriet Ware, a northern missionary, writing from the Sea Islands in 1863, blamed the excessive quarrelling among women.Excessive quarrelling among women hints at the existence of a gossip network among slaves. This independence and self-reliance among women slaves led to what anthropologists call, matrifocality, which means when mothers become the focal point of family activity. Womens role became more central than were fathers to a familys continuation and survival as a unit.

ConclusionDespite the very hard conditions and the multiple traumas they have experienced, during the age of slavery, women proved that they were able to occupy the same activities as men and learned how to be totally self-reliant.In fact, slave women were searching for a way to express themselves and to stand up for their rights. For instance, literature was first and foremost a fundamental means of struggle for freedom, equality, and self assertion. As an example: Phillis Weatley

Phillis Wheatley (175384), born in Senegal, Africa. And brought to America as a slave owned by a Boston merchant. Her interest in literature led her to write and publish Poems on Various Subjects in 1773. Even though she had mastered the English at the age of sixteen, her poetry was praised by many of the leading figures of the American Revolution, including George Washington. Despite this, many white people found it hard to believe that a Black woman could be so intelligent as to write poetry. As a result, Wheatley had to defend herself in court by proving she actually wrote her own poetry. First African American to publish a book First African American woman to earn a living from her writing First woman writer encouraged and financed by a group of women (Mrs. Wheatley, Mary Wheatly, and Selina Hastings.)

Phillis Wheatley (1753?-1784)

Wheatley wanted to prove that she is able to master art just like whites or even better. Phillis Wheatley, as an African American Slave Woman wanted to assert her identity through artistic creativity.

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