Planters Efforts to Control Slavery

8/12/2019 Planters Efforts to Control Slavery

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Question: How successful were the planters efforts to control the labour force in the

British West Indies.

On the 1 st of August, 1 !", #$, $$$ African sla%es in the British West Indies

e&perienced freedo' fro' the shac(les of sla%er) that had bound the' for 'ost of their

li%es. With e'ancipation, the e&*sla%es beca'e free to choose the nature of their future

e&istence. According to Wood%ille +arshall 1-- / page 10, Blac(s clearl) e&pected

that the) would be free to ta(e their persons, their s(ills and their labour to whate%er

location the) chose. 2he) e&pected e'ancipation to facilitate consolidation of fa'il).

Blac(s hoped that e'ancipation would pro%ide the opportunit) for the' to ta(e full

control of their li%es, to la) a co'pletel) new base for societ).3

2he) were free to continue in the e'plo)'ent of their for'er 'asters or the)

could e&ploit e'plo)'ent opportunities other than plantation wage. A'ong the newl)

e'ancipated people, plantation labour was regarded as inade4uate to suppl) their range

of e&pectations created b) e'ancipation. 5abourers now had to be paid for their ser%ices

and 'an) lanters lac(ed the funds. 2hus, after 1 !", labour beca'e and e&pensi%e.

6or the planter freedo' 'eant the final discharge of their unecono'ic custo'ar)

obligations to their for'er sla%es. 2he planters sought to re'ain free of an) co'pulsion

to e'plo) labourers, )et the) wanted to be in a position to co'pel labourers to wor( in

such 4uantities and at such ti'es as was needed. 6urther, the) wanted labour at a price

that would per'it reali7ation of a profit in an industr) in which the price of the

co''odit) produced often fell below the cost of production.

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2hus this resulted in a pronounced e&odus in ;a'aica. In =t. >itts and ?e%is the

illegal sla%e practice of running awa) and 'aroonage was transfor'ed into the legal

sla%e strateg) of 'ass wor(ing*class e'igration. Wood%ille +arshall 1-- /, page 1!

states that Blac(s did lea%e plantations in so'e territories in significant nu'bers,

particularl) after 1 "#, but this flight occurred when wor(ers and e'plo)ers failed to

agree on the ter's and conditions of e'plo)'ent.3 2herefore, these 'easures were 'ore

disad%antageous to the planters because it initiated a further decrease in the labour

suppl). 2hus, this 'easure was not successful.

2he planters also i'ple'ented laws that too( the for' of labour contracts and%agranc) laws in Antigua and Barbados. 2here were laws which pre%ented free

'o%e'ent, and others placed licenses on charcoal and firewood, thus 'a(ing the li%e of

the e&*sla%e 'ore difficult. Howe%er, these laws were still less effecti%e than the rent

wage and rules and regulation s)ste's, thus the planters efforts were highl) unsuccessful.

2o the e&*sla%e land was an essential co''odit) in establishing a li%elihood for

the'sel%es, in a societ) which was based on financial prosperit). 5and could be ac4uired

legall) either b) purchasing, leasing and sharecropping agree'ent. Howe%er, this

pri%ilege of ac4uiring land was often denied due to the e&pensi%e prices placed on the

land b) the planters, in an atte'pt to control their labour force.

Other restrictions were placed on the 4ualit) of the land that could be obtained.

@suall), infertile areas or abandoned plantations with e&hausted soils were offered to the

e&*sla%es. 2hese 'easures would pre%ent e&*sla%es fro' obtaining land, thus pre%enting

the' with no other choice but plantation labour. Howe%er, 2rinidad and


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coast and in 2rinidad the s4uatting occurred in the estates bac(*lands. 2his caused a

great decrease in the a'ount of labourers a%ailable to wor( on the plantations, thus

defeating the plantations e&pectations of controlling the labour force. Howe%er, in other

British 2erritories this 'easure was highl) successful, since so'e planters benefited fro'

it b) allowing e&*sla%es to s4uat on the outs(irts of their plantations, thus increasing the

suppl) of labour.

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Planters Efforts to Control Slavery