Accounting For Slavery (Masters and Management) by Caitlin Rosenthal is an in-depth look at a slave plantation in the West Indies. The plantation’s primary purpose was to grow, harvest and distribute sugar cane. What is amazing is the insight of the detailed records of all the slaves, livestock, equipment, and all employees. Tellingly, the records let you know how inferior the slaves were their records were labeled the same as the animals. The author writes that the plantations considered slaves as capital and labor lost- as diminished inventory. This subtle statement shows the inhumanity of the institution of slavery.
The losses were large and enslaved people died at an alarming rate. I found it insightful that death in slavery did not begin with the middle passage and end on the plantation. The author indicated that enslaved slaved people died at all stages of the Atlantic Labor supply. (Page 12) In Africa, 10 percent died in capture. While in Africa 25 percent died in the march to the coast. Still more died in port towns awaiting to be sent to America, South America, and the Caribbean. Another 2 million slaves died on the journey to America and once there heavy labor, diseases, killed more. This is ironic because the slave owners needed the slaves to live to make money but so many died in the process.
Another interesting point was the massive operation it took to harvest sugar cane. It involved so many moving parts that must be coordinated in an orderly process. (Page 16) The author stated Sugar production was time-sensitive, particularly between the cutting of the cane and the boiling of the juice. Coordinating these activities for maximum output required the mill to be near the cane fields.
The key to the running of the sugar cane fields was the chain of command. First, it started with the absentee owner, followed by the attorney, then the overseer, and a host of enslaved managers. The whites were such a minority on these plantations and they used the enslaved managers to help control the masses. The author indicated the major method of controlling the slaves was violence. It was to create fear so that the slaves would not revolt or run away. Even the use of such cruel tactics did not totally stop revolts. There were flare-ups but never enough to rid themselves of the slave masters. There were even pockets of resistance that the British government allowed them to exist as long as they fought against the other revolts.
In conclusion, I found this chapter was a matter fact look at slavery on the Caribbean island. It is so different when compared to the type of slavery in America. In America, there were little or few absentee owners and it seemed that the American form of slavery was harsher because the owner was present. As far as the administration and running of the plantation not much difference between the two. Accounting For Slavery (Masters and Management) by Caitlin Rosenthal was an interesting look into the cold business of slavery. She exposed all phases and even raised questions like why wasn’t there more slave revolts considering the white population. This shows the power of fear and how it can be used to control people.