“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.
- Why did this consciousness of absolute power overpower the laws?
- Why were slaves given these freedoms that violated the safety of the white men?
Yeah I agree with the quote that you picked for it being significant for this chapter. Another thing to point out was that literature of slave resistance was surfacing in the Caribbean’s so it would also reach many slaves in no time. These books focused on methods to escape and how to treat their masters. It was mentioned as well that the relationship between all whites and all blacks was an “undeclared war” because many times interactions led to violence. This quote you chose is significant because it clearer states why the masters acted as they did and it was to show absolute power over their property. In the mid-18th century it was said to have been one of the best times in Jamaica because of how profitable the land was and how the economy was prospering but this was all at the hand of slaves who were tormented. In the narrative it is said how the slaves out numbered whites in Jamaica and it did make a difference because in the American South not many slaves revolted with violence because there was more whites around. The more revolts the more it led to their freedom but with even that being done, it was a long process, but eventually it was worth the wait some may say.