The lives of enslaved men and women

The lives of enslaved men and women

Introduction

Slavery in the southern part of the US was rampant in the early nineteenth century. It was marked with harsh slave treatment and poor working conditions. Large sugar plantations were the primary destination for most of the slaves. Other slaves worked on small farms; domestic slaves worked in their masters’ houses and did all the house chores; other slaves worked in industries and transportation. Enslaved men and women were charged with planting and harvesting, cutting trees, slashing, and preparing bushes for planting. Repairing houses and tools used in the farms was done with the slaves. The work was divided according to gender. Men were allocated to work that was physical engaging like carpentry, blacksmith work, mechanics, and driving. Women took care of children, weaving, sewing, and household chores.

The working conditions were deplorable. Most enslaved men and women worked barefoot in rice plantations that were swampy. This predisposed them to water-borne infections such as schistosomiasis. Inadequate clothing, poor nutrition, lack of treatment, poor wound care, poor hygienic conditions, and Heavy labor also contributed to the development of infections. The enslaved men and women faced harsh punishments from their masters in the form of whipping, mutilation, imprisonment, being sold, thus separating slaves from their families, and death. The killing of a slave was not considered to be murder. Slaves were property by their masters and were treated as such, sold at will. Example Sojourner Truth was sold together with a flock of sheep by his master at the age of nine at 100 dollars. This shows there was no difference between her and the sheep; both were property belonging to the master.

No slave was allowed to stand in the way of the master. He was required to undertake all the orders without any complaint. No slave could witness against or take a white man to court. Sojourner Truth was the took his master to court for selling her five-year-old son to slavery and was the first black to make a white man to court and win the case. The wages received by the slaves was so little to even cater for their daily needs.

Slaves attempted rebellion against their masters by slowing the pace at which they worked, destroying tools and disabling machinery, stealing property, burning down plantations. Others like Fedrick Douglass confronted his master Edward Cover who has been beating him almost daily. His body was wounded. When he defeated the master in the confrontation, the beating stopped. Other slaves escaped from the plantations to slave-free zones. Those who were caught escaping were punished by imprisonment, being sold to other farms, and even faced death sentences. Marriage and sexual relationships among the slaves were prohibited. Reading and writing were also forbidden as masters feared if the slaves become literate, they could rebel.

Religion played an essential role in the lives of slaves. Slaves developed their form of a region, which was a mixture of African believes and Christianity. Faith gave the slaves hope and morale to continue working, looking forward to the day their misery could come to an end. Phillis Wheatley, in one of her poems she says that slavery she has been introduced to Christianity. Christianity played a major role in her life as her master Susanne Wheatley took her in, introduced her to Christianity, taught her to read and write, and natured the talents of poetry in her.  Some slaves, however, were against Christianity because it justified slavery as their masters were Christians.

Men were preferred to women as slaves. Men could accomplish much more than females in plantations. Women were avoided as masters did not children. They preferred buying slaves who are grown rather than raising children born to them by their female slaves. In Berbice, the ratio of men to women in 1810 was 128.4, while in 1811, it was 114.5. Males labored in large plantations. The mortality rate was higher than the birth rate. Slaves were transferred to Demerara, a neighboring farm to Berbice.  Despite slave men desiring to have families of their own, they faced a lot of obstacles.

Berbecian slaves had an opportunity to manage their social and cultural practices. Men could discipline their wives and children if the need arises. Marital conflicts were solved within the slaves without involving the masters. Although they were regarded heads of families, they could not create male dominance as it was a custom in Africa.  Men desired long-lasting relationships with their wives, but this was not practical due to the sale of slaves. In 1820 male slaves were allowed to make their marriages formal. The enslaved women were against legal marriage because it limited their ability to make their own choices, and men could have authority over them.

The enslaved me fulfilled their duties are husbands and fathers. Men expected the women to provide companionship and sex and perform their duties as women by cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. Men had to provide for their families. Others went as far as stealing food to ensure their wives and children have something to eat. They protect their families from any form of mistreatment either from other enslaved men or their masters. The men were at risk of losing their wives to their masters or by being sold to other plantations. Men protected their daughters against mistreatment and abuse, playing their role as fathers.

Men worked in the fields in groups; they took their meals and sang together. After the day activity, the men could meet and spend their time together. The social activities they engaged in were wrestling, drinking, and gambling. These lead to the formation of long-lasting relationships. This helped them forget their misery as slaves.

Enslaved women faced depression for being both women and Africans. Men outnumbered women. Male slaves were more expensive as compared to female slaves — women where raped and taken by their masters as concubines. Sojourner Truth bared a child, by the name Diana. Pregnant women were unable to coup up with the working pace. Women were torn between taking care of their children and obeying their masters’ regimes. They had to fulfill their duties as women and also do the work expected by their masters. The children born to slave mothers had high mortality rates due to poor feeding, lack of reproductive health for the mothers. Children were separated from their mothers at an early age, and the children raised by other people. Most of the children did not reach seven years of age. The mothers themselves died from complications associated with pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. Miscarriages were commonly implicated by the hard labor and lack of proper nutrition. A study carried out by Jennifer Morgan showed that the loss of children by mothers was a hidden form of trauma in slavery. Women were not allowed to study, and this was a threat to rebellion. Educated slave women were not given an opportunity to express their views. Phillis Wheatley, an African slave, had to appear in court to defend the authorship of her poems. Slaves and especially women slaves were not believed could possess such talent. She faced challenges publishing her poems as publishers in London discriminated against her and could not publish her work. While male slaves could escape the harsh treatments, females could not avoid leaving their children behind, so they remained in bondage for the sake of their children.

From the information above, it’s evident that slaves, both male, and female faced a lot of challenges during the slavery period in the US. Slaves were property owned by their masters who could literary do anything they wished. The living conditions were harsh; the remuneration was not enough, their masters harassed them, and their general health was poor. Mortality rates were high than birth rates. Females faced double harsh treatment than men simply because they are black or African and women. They were sexually abused and harassed by their masters. They didn’t have any autonomy on the person to get married to and faced a lot of challenges during pregnancy and childbirth.