Landing and Sale in the West Indies

Landing and Sale in the West Indies Chapter 2, Section 3

Preparing for Sale • Slaves were allowed to : 1. shave 2. wash with fresh water 3. exercise s were given time to rest on the islands of the West Indies, usually Martinique or Barbados.

Market • At the market slaves were closely inspected. • In order to make the slaves look more healthy captains would: 1. dye hair 2. oil their bodies 3. use hemp to block the discharge of dysentery

Captains would land in the West Indies with their cargo and haggled over prices and numbers. • It took between a few days to weeks to sell all of the slaves. • Sometimes one buyer would take a whole cargo, otherwise auctions took place • The “scramble” would also be used to sell individual slaves. One price for men and one for women, then rope together desired slaves.

Types of Slaves • Creoles-slaves born in the Americas (most valuable) • Old Africans- those who had lived in the Americas for sometime • New Africans- those who had just survived the middle passage (also known as “salt-water Negros” or “Guinea-birds”)

Inspections

Seasoning • Seasoning was a period of up to two years when slaves would learn plantation routines. • North American planter preferred “seasoned” slaves to “unbroken” ones . • The demand for slaves in the West Indies became so great by 1720 that slaves were not seasoned before arriving in North America.

Steps of Seasoning • 1. Given new names (Christian, African, or Greek) • 2. Learn a new language • 3. Learn how to labor

Working • 1. Great gang- strongest men, did heavy field work of planting and harvesting. • 2. Second gang- women and older men, light field work. • 3. Third gang- mostly children, worked shorter hours bringing food and water to the field workers. • 4. Domestic servants- did house work.

Criteria for Seasoning to be considered Successful • 1. Survival • 2. Adaptation to new food and climate • 3. Learned the new language • 4. Stopped being suicidal and accepted their new role in life.

Ending the Atlantic Slave Trade • The cruelty of the Atlantic Slave Trade contributed to its end. • The British stopped depending on it economically in the late 1700s. • The British abolished the slave trade in 1807, the United States did the same in 1808. • It was Guinea and western Central Africa that fought to keep the trade going because their economies depended on it.

Questions p. 58-62 • 1. What happened to Africans after they crossed the Atlantic? • 2. What was seasoning and why was it used? • 3. How did masters treat slaves in the Americas? • 4. Why did the Atlantic slave trade end?

Landing and Sale in the West Indies