Month: October 2016

“Yet the fact that a number of slaves were prepared to resort to violence was sufficient to give white Jamaicans pause.”

I found this part of the passage to be particularly interesting because I think it illustrates that tensions between white Jamaicans and slaves were on the rise, and it was getting to the point were some slaves weren’t very concerned with the repercussions they’d face. During Thistlewood’s thirty-seven years in Jamaica, he had encountered only a few revolts which took place mostly in the 1760s. As more and more time passed, it was quite clear that slaves were growing impatient with the conditions they were living in. Although slaves were usually dealt with severe punishments for lashing out, some slaves definitely stopped caring. Thistlewood remarks that there were several instances in which he had to defend himself against slaves, and he encountered slaves carrying guns. There were several instances when Thistlewood realized that being white in Jamaica was more dangerous than many thought. However, there were also tensions between the slaves as well, because many of them came from a variety of lands, so there was no real connection between any of them other than they were all slaves. All these divisions between the varying groups of people in Jamaica could definitely be held responsible for the tensions between slaves and masters.

1. The passage says that Thistlewood noticed whites were in danger as soon as he arrived in Jamaica, why’d he stay for 37 years?
2. Why did Thistlewood break laws that were meant to protect whites in Jamaica if he had already had bad experiences with slaves.

“Severe penalties were meted out to slaves who dared to strike whites, as we have seen. Not many slaves were willing to risk such punishment, and consequently, most slaves put up with whatever provocation whites gave them”. (140-141)

Slowly and steadily, slaves in Jamaica were resisting their master’s abuse. White slaveowners like Thistlewood now found it necessary to carry some sort of weapon as protection. Slaves were emerging out of fear into whatever it takes to freedom. In early slavery, slaves didn’t have the courage but rather the fear towards their masters. They were out mastered. Now, slaves often carried weapons of their owns frightening their masters. Where did this outbreak come from? Although Thistlewood has never experienced a revolt against himself, he witnessed other revolts around the island against other slave owners. Before, slaves would think twice before revolting. Now, slaves came to realize they can’t stay like this forever. What once was a dream might turn into reality. As every day passes, whites were at more risk around their slaves with no knowledge on what they might do or have plotted against them. One reason for the slave owner’s dominance falling was that the whites had no knowledge of Africans and their society. Owners would assume that the slaves were divided by their language, ethnicity, etc. But, as the slave owners realize this isn’t true, its too late! The Jamaican slaves slowly grew to their ultimate goal of freedom, but for now are enjoying the smaller freedoms granted by their masters such as free trade, travel, and education.

 

“Whites were in an extremely precarious situation in mid eighteenth century Jamaica. On the one hand, they had established an awesomely productive economy in which they made enormous profits. On the other hand, they made these profits within a highly distorted social structure that included a mass of exploited, brutalized, and resentful African slaves.” P138

This quote from chapter 5 really illustrates the situation in Jamaica at the time. The white men made a fortune off of slavery, taking advantage of the labor of slaves. They had generated a mass amount of money and many landowners became even more rich, but the slaves were suffering for the white’s benefit. What resulted was a social structure in Jamaica that had the rich whites on top and everyone else who were slaves beneath them. The whites were making money while everyone below them in the social hierarchy worked for them and got nothing but suffering in return. This social structure in Jamaica was really unstable considering that all profits that the white owners had was dependent on slavery. Slavery was a necessity which would cause a collapse in the economy if it would somehow change. That was common during these times, there were 9 black men for every 1 white man and they would attack whites or revolt against them ever so often.

If slavery was suddenly removed, how would the white landowners make their money?

How would the Jamaican economy last without slavery?

 

“The bird locked in his cage profits from the slightest negligence to escape. I dare to say that our negroes lack only sufficient courage or resolution to buy their freedom with the blood of their masters” (page 137)

This quote is important as it shows the masters’ fear of the possibility of slaves rebelling and escaping. The “bird locked” in a cage is a metaphor that represents the relation between slaves and their masters.

The bird represents the slave that is unable to escape from the cage,which represents the master. The narrator states that the bird “profits from the slightest negligence to escape” meaning that the slave fails to escape but even the attempt of escaping give slaves more confidence and motivation in trying again, which is why it is a “profit” for the slaves.  The narrator fears that the only thing stopping slaves from rebelling and killing their masters is the lack of “sufficient courage or resolution”. This means that slaves will slowly start to rebel once they have the motivation to do so. As stated in the quote the slaves are willing to buy their freedom with he blood of their masters, meaning they were willing to kill their masters to gain their freedom. This obviously caused a problem to slave owners. Slave owners will have to watch their backs making sure no slaves were going to attack them.

Later on in the text Thistlewood, a slave owner, needed to carry a stick or gun with him for protection from his own slaves. In fact he was attacked by a slave and when he ordered one of his slaves to help him, the slave didn’t obey. This shows how slaves are slowly becoming more active in their plan to freedom. They are no longer afraid of the consequences of their actions. With this movement of rebellious slaves, white slave owners will have to watch their backs.

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think the reason slaves didn’t rebel was because of the lack of weapons or the fear of authority ?
2. What triggered the slave rebellion as there was plenty of other times of rebellion?

“It is not the fear and equity of the law that forbids the slave from stabbing his master, it is the consciousness of absolute power that he has over his person. Remove this bit, he will dare everything.” (page 137)

I found this quote very interesting because the author is basically saying that the slaves are not afraid of the consequences that come from the law of the land. They do have extreme resentment and hate towards their masters, but they wouldn’t kill them. Instead, he says that the thing that forbids them from killing their masters is the awareness of this absolute power that they hold. If you remove that awareness, they will be willing to risk everything for vengeance.

The author continues to talk about how during the 18th century in Jamaica, everyone lived in fear. Plantation owners had great economic growth with the help of their angered slaves. The ratio between slaves and Europeans was 9 to 1, and Maroon attacks were now common.

This relates to the text as a whole because the author continues throughout the rest of the chapter talking about the this fear instilled in the Europeans in Jamaica. He talks about the many slave revolts that have occurred and how it became a common thing. Because of this, they slowly gave the slaves some rights, such as to move around, carry guns, and consume alcohol.

1. Why did this consciousness of absolute power overpower the laws?
2. Why were slaves given these freedoms that violated the safety of the white men?

“Jamaican law created a bifurcated system that divided the numerous castes into four classes: whites, who alone had access to English common law and it’s most sacred plank, trial by jury; free people of color having privileges granted by private acts; free people of color not possessing such privilieges; and slaves.

These castes dictated every aspect of life on Jamaica from things like the jobs you can get, the property you can own, to the inheritance you can give or receive. White men of English descent often own the biggest plantations and dominated the Council, Assembly, and militia leaderships. However, there was also a class of non English whites who arr slightly less privileged than English whites. These people included the Jews, Irish, and Scots. The Jews often found themselves the victims of tax attempts from the Aasembly. The Irish were considered the “poor whites” since they mostly came to the island as indentured servants. There were two classes within the free blacks: the mulattos and the Maroons, Africans who had escaped slavery brought by the Spanish. The mulattos were artisans, craftspeople, hucksters, and occasionally servants. Some were descendants of planters and became slave owners themselves. These people were deprived of any civil or political rights. The Maroons on the other hand, were classified by those who lived in clans and were hunter warriors, the Western Leeward Maroons, and the eastern Windward Maroons who followed a less rigidly structured leadership, and women had more political and ritual roles. Finally, there were the enslaved Africans. These people worked on plantations and in towns in many different occupations. They were deprived of almost all person liberties and properties and were considered chattel. This social hierarchy existed to enforce the roles each division could play, and reign white supremacy over people of color.

“The contradictions surrounding the role of white woman in the frontier of Jamaican creole culture also participated in these performative systems. By the mid eighteenth century, to put it crudely, white women were at a premium”

This quote is incredibly important to the rest of the passage do the way it describes the role of white woman in Jamaican society along with how they were portrayed. The were put upon a pedestal above law and custom, quite simply the held a very comfortable place in society and this directly relates back to the fact that the Jamaican people were greatly taken advantage of and this is where they derived their comfortable position in society. The one thing that separated white and black women on the island was race and yet they believed that black women were voracious in a multitude of ways.White women were idealized and seen as fragile a direct contradiction the view of black women which many believed to be a “inner nature” directly relating them to animals in a sense.Despite all the time that has passed black people as a whole were still seen as almost entirely different from white people. Even if black women were to have children with a white man they were still to be slaves and this was directly do to the women social standing, it was extremely regressive and this was the nature of the island. Racial tropes and stigmas were carried throughout the island with slavery and the many divisions of what kind of white people there were. Therefore there was a very clear and evident difference in the status of the woman in Jamaican society based on the tone of their skin.

“The various other ethnic, class, caste, racial and political divisions on the island – between English, Scots, Irish and Jews; white traders and indentured servants, mulattos or “coloureds,” free blacks and Marrons;…”

I found this part of the passage to be particularly interesting because it really shows just how separated people in Jamaica were. Racism, and slavery were so strong that there were so many new and different classifications assigned to people to keep as few people in power as possible. By creating so many different “races” and ethnicities, fewer and fewer people are able to consider themselves white, which keeps many people out of power. In Jamaica, few people were in power and those who were had greater influence outside the sugar-planting industry. The elite had control of land as well as the banks. Additionally, the elite were known for how cruel they were to their slaves. They would do whatever was necessary to keep their slaves in check and to destroy any sort of rebellion.  This type of extreme oppression became so normal in Jamaica, to keep it that way it seems as if this invention of new categories to put people in was created to ensure the Jamaican way of life for the elites remains the same. This system of inequality is what kept majority of Jamaican people oppressed for so long. The state of Jamaica was in such poor shape with all this inequality and slavery that the passage claims a visitor from England showed remorse for the country. A spacious country with so many slaves that have never tasted liberty or freedom is surely something to feel remorseful about.

1. Would Jamaica be any different if sugar cane was not the main crop grown?
2. How would this change impact trade relations with Jamaica’s partners?

“This act, giving “legislative countenance to the social ascent of mulattoes,” as Winthrop Jordan pointed out some time ago, was singular among the British colonies in America. But it also made clear the racial basis of claims to national belonging: English rights and liberties belonged to English, or British, subjects, “born of British parents” or sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots to be seen as white and Christian; to be “called English” meant to be “free from all taint of the Negroe race.”(page 148)

This quote is talking about a law passed in 1733 that stated that no one should be labeled a mulatto after the “Third Generation”and if they were brought up to be Christian. This means that A mulatto which is person born of white and black ancestry, shall not be called a mulatto after the third generation of black blood being in their veins, this essentially allowed them to be called white as long as they were brought up Christian. The quote illustrates to us what this meant for the ex-mulattoes. The quote states that English rights were given to English people, people born to British parents, or people “sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots. This means that these people who were mulattoes after the third generation and grew up as Christians were now allowed the rights of Englishmen meaning they were considered equal. The quote also goes on to tell us what makes someone “English”. It states ” …to be “called English” meant to be “free from all taint of the Negroe race.” This of course means that in order to be English you must not contain black blood inside you.

Two questions i have about this reading are:

1. If you are only considered “English” is you are free from all taint of the Negroe race.” then why are they allowing Mulattoes become Englishmen and are allowing them equal rights?
2. This quote also states that English rights also belonged to people who sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots to be seen as white and Christian. Does this mean that if you look black even after the third generation you are not given those rights?

” English rights and liberties belonged to English, or British, subjects, “born of British parents” or sufficiently removed from miscegenated roots to be seen as white and Christian; to be “called English” meant to be “free from all taint of the Negroe race.” pg 148

This quote is remarkable for understanding the broader argument of this text because it explains who had rights and who didn’t. This clarifies who was safe and who was a slave plus how rigged the system was in Jamaica. Jamaica was a land full of business and were many older white people lived meanwhile there children were remained in their homeland being educated. Religion very much seemed to have played a major role in Jamaica for the Jews were considered unworthy because of their non-Christian status until they worked out an agreement. Race was determined by origin, religion, language, legal status, property, and political rights, and skin color of course being of the biggest focus.

The “English rights” were to become of nothing sooner than people thought because there were free blacks around this island and it defeated the point of view of them being “lazy” as many of them were talented and hardworking. Throughout the passage it was said also that it “led to recurrent protests by white traders” which showed how the support was built up by whites as well. Women as well played a role as they were controlled by men so they supported a movement for all equality. It was in Phillips writing thats she showed how comfortable she was and when it came to her time , her slaves wanted to sacrifice themselves for her, but with that being said she didn’t allow it for there would be no proof of her own sacrifice for all slaves. Her race ensured her a superior position in local power structures so it was at her own will for her to represent and be a voice for slaves.

1. Why did the lower class whites try to be flashy in their possessions to chance having debt?
2. How was it not evident that these plays enacted were representing how the blacks were being treated?