“When I set that portion at one-third of the net revenue, I assumed that you would work six days a week. You want to cut back on Saturday. From the first, I already told you that you have authority to do this; but look at the results.” (p. 140)
I found this quote from the text particularly interesting, as it is a crucial part of the rules that slaves on the plantation had to abide by. When you think slaves, you think hour-long, back breaking work with little to no breaks, and bad treatment. However, this quote goes against that belief. The text states that slaves were not forced to work, and were basically given complete freedom. If they did not want to work and instead wanted to rest, they could. They could “rest on Saturday, on Monday, every day of the week”, if they wanted to. The African slaves had every right to not work if they pleased to do so, but the only catch was that it was their own responsibilities to be fed and kept in order. The quote above is followed by calculations of how much milliers the slaves would be losing, had they chose not to work. Sure, the slaves had freedom, but if they chose to not work, then no money would be made. This meant they would not be able to support themselves financially, as they would have no share in the profits of the plantation. Polveral makes sure to emphasize to the slaves that they have freedom and rights but he also thoroughly explains the consequences of not working. This may lead the slaves to think about their actions and decide what is better for their well-being, which causes them to work more on the plantations.