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Slavery in the British and French Caribbean refers to
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in the parts of the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
dominated by
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
or the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
.


History

In the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
colonised the islands of
St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
and
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
in 1623 and 1627 respectively, and later,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
in 1655. In these islands and England's other Caribbean colonies, white colonists would gradually introduce a system of slave-based labor to underpin a new economy based on
cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...
production.


French institution of slavery

In the mid-16th century, enslaved people were trafficked from Africa to the Caribbean by European mercantilists. Originally, white European indentured servants worked alongside enslaved African people in the "New World" (the Americas). At this time, there were not widespread theories of race or racism that would cause different treatment for white indentured servants and enslaved African people. Francois Bernier, who is considered to have presented the first modern concept of race, published his work “A New Division of the Earth according to the Different Species or Races of Men Who Inhabit It” in 1684, over 100 years after slaves were brought to the "New World" (the Americas). While this was published in the late 17th century, race theory was not largely popularized among merchants or colonizers until the 19th century. Racism ultimately dismantled the working integration of white indentured servants and enslaved Africans. As of 1778, the French were trafficking approximately 13,000 African people as slaves to the
French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, ...
each year. Slavery had been active in French colonies since the early 16th century; it was first abolished by the French government in 1794, whereupon it was replaced by forced labour before being reinstated by Napoleon in 1802. The French slave trade functioned along a triangular route, wherein ships would travel from France to colonized African countries, and then to the Caribbean colonies.Miller, C. L. 2008. “Introduction.” Pg 4 in ''The French Atlantic triangle: literature and culture of the slave trade''. Duke University Press. The triangular setup was intentional, as France aimed to bring the African laborers to the New World, wherein their labor was of higher value because of the natural and cheap resources cultivated from the land, and then bring the product back to France. In French, the ''commerce triangulaire'' referred to this Atlantic economy based on the trafficking of enslaved people from Africa. In France, the slaving interest was based in Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, and Le Havre during the years 1763 to 1792. The men involved defended their diabolical business against the abolition movement of 1789. They were merchants who specialized in funding and directing cargoes of stolen Black captives to the Caribbean colonies, which had horrifically high death rates. Enslavers relied on a continuous supply of newly trafficked enslaved people. The merchants intermarried with each other's families; most were Protestants. Their derogatory and patronizing approach towards Black people immunized them from moral criticism. They were strongly opposed to the application of the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
to Black people. While they ridiculed the slaves as "dirty" and "savage", they often took a Black mistress (an enslaved woman forced into sexual services). The French government paid a bounty on each captive sold to the colonies, which made the business profitable and patriotic.


Slave trade

In this
mercantilist Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
economy of the French trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved human beings from Africa, wealth and goods were moved in an insular, unidirectional fashion to the exclusive benefit of Europe. In fact, the French had a policy called “the Exclusif” (''exclusive'' in English), requiring French colonies to only sell exports to France and purchase imported goods from France. This promoted the concept of “centripetal trade” in which all profit and capital spread amongst the American colonies eventually circulated back into the hands of European powers. The trafficking of enslaved people was just one fraction of the mercantilist economy. In addition, Europeans brought “pacotille” or “cheaply made European goods” to trade with Africans. This often took the form of colonial products such as sugar, rum, tobacco, coffee, or indigo. Thus African leaders, who themselves were in control of selling African captives with Europeans, did not retain the wealth they acquired in the trafficking of enslaved people. Rather they were the targeted customers of poorly-made pacotille. Their profits from the trafficking in enslaved human beings then circled back to manufacturers in Europe, just as the Exclusif had intended. The French trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved human beings has qualities of both an economy of ''trade'' and ''traite''. Many historians consider the trafficking in enslaved people to be “an economy of trade according to “rational” sets of prices, and not as a pure extraction of theft of Africans from Africa by Europeans.” Indeed, the victims of chattel slavery became commodities, given a “rational” price tag. At the time the Dictionnaire universel was written the cost of an enslaved person in a French colony was £19. While this is a somewhat arbitrary number, from an economic standpoint, this is an example of trade in the sense that goods of “similar” value were exchanged. However, the Europeans purchasing enslaved people directly from Africa bought them for about half the price of slaves in the "New World" with the thought that slaves in Africa did not have environmental factors or technology to be as efficient as enslaved people in the colonies. Examples of slave prices in Africa include 172 cowries, 1/25 of a horse, and 9000 pounds of sugar. The relativity of the price of an enslaved people contributed to the centripetal force of triangular trade. It drew profits for merchants who bought the same slaves in Africa from Africans for a low cost and then upticked the price for Europeans in the American colonies. While the exchange itself might be considered trade, the power of Europeans to monopolize the trading and trafficking in enslaved people and control the market poses a strong confounder to the situation, pointing the trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved people from Africa to also be an economy of ''traite''.


General overview

The
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
islands of
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
,
St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...
,
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
,
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
,
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
,
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
and
Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
were the first important slave societies of the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, switching to the institution of slavery by the end of the 17th century as their economies converted from
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
to sugar production, and as
mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
became the dominant economic system in Europe. The mercantilism model limited imports and highly valued exports, which largely drove imperial efforts across Europe by utilizing slave labor in order to produce cheap goods to be sold at higher market prices upon their return to Europe. By the middle of the 18th century, British
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and French
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
(now
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
) had become the largest slave societies of the region, rivaling
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
as a destination for enslaved Africans. The death rates for Black slaves in these islands were higher than birth rates. The decrease averaged about 3 percent per year in Jamaica and 4 percent a year in the smaller islands. The diary of slaveowner
Thomas Thistlewood Thomas Thistlewood (16 March 1721 ‒ 30 November 1786) was an English planter in colonial Jamaica. Thistlewood migrated to the western end of the Colony of Jamaica where he became a plantation overseer, plantation owner and slaver. His lengthy ...
of Jamaica details violence against enslaved people, and constitutes important historical documentation of the conditions for enslaved people from the Caribbean. For centuries the institution of slavery made
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
production economical. The low level of technology made production difficult and labor-intensive. At the same time, the demand for sugar was rising, particularly in Great Britain. The French colony of Saint-Domingue quickly began to out-produce all of the British islands combined. Though sugar was driven by slavery, rising costs for the British made it easier for the British
abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...
to be heard. Sugar thus became inherently linked to the institution of slavery, and the link was publicized specifically in abolition and anti-sugar movements, but was understood by many French citizens.
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, for example, wrote of a sighting of a maimed slave in ''
Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
'', writing: "C'est à ce prix que vous mangez du sucre en Europe" ("this is what it costs for you to eat your sugar in Europe"). In addition to sugar, France additionally capitalized on "pacotille," or cheap goods such as rum, tobacco, coffee and indigo.Yee, Jennifer. 2016. “The Real Cost of Sugar: Ethics, the Slave Trade, and the Colonies.” Pg 60 in ''The Colonial Comedy: Imperialism in the French Realist Novel''. Oxford University Press. These cheap products were brought from Europe and traded to African elites in exchange for enslaved people. Profiting from "pacotille" was another method of perpetuating the
mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
economic model.


Anglo-American institution of slavery

The system of enslaving people from African heritage that developed in the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
was an outgrowth of the demand for sugar and other crops. As part of
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
's
Western Design The Western Design is the term commonly used for an English expedition against the Spanish West Indies during the 1654 to 1660 Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660), Anglo-Spanish War. Part of an ambitious plan by Oliver Cromwell to end Spanish domi ...
, the English captured several Spanish colonial possessions in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
, most prominently
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, which was invaded and occupied in 1655. White colonists soon transformed Jamaica into a center of the Atlantic slave trade. In 1640 the English began sugar production with the help of the Dutch. This started the Anglo-American plantation societies which would later be led by Jamaica after it was fully developed. At its peak production between 1740 and 1807 Jamaica received 33% of the total enslaved people who were trafficked in order to keep up its production. Other crops besides sugar were also cultivated on the plantations. Tobacco, coffee, and livestock were all produced as well using slave labor. Sugar, however, stands out most prominently due to its exorbitant popularity during the time period and the dangers of its production, which claimed the lives of many enslaved people. England had multiple sugar colonies in the Caribbean, especially
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, Nevis, and
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
, which provided a steady flow of sugar to Europe and North America; indentured and enslaved people's labor produced the sugar. English involvement in slavery increased as a result of the Treaty of Utrecht, which was signed in 1713. During the negotiations of the treaty, of special importance was the successful secret negotiation with France to obtain a 30-year monopoly on selling African slaves in the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, known as the ''
Asiento de Negros The () was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide African slaves to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the trans-Atlantic slave trade directly from Afri ...
.''
Queen Anne of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...
also allowed her North American colonies like Virginia to make laws that promoted the institution of slavery. Anne had secretly negotiated with the French government to get its approval regarding the ''asiento'', since it had previously been awarded to France to the benefit of French merchants. The British government gave the ''asiento'' to the newly-formed South Sea Company. Most of the trafficking of enslaved people by the South Sea Company involved sales to Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, and to Mexico, as well as sales to British colonies in the Caribbean and in North America. Historian Vinita Ricks says the agreement allotted Queen Anne "22.5% (and King Philip V, of Spain 28%) of all profits rom the ''asiento''collected for her personal fortune." Ricks concludes that the Queen's "connection to slave trade revenue meant that she was no longer a neutral observer. She had a vested interest in what happened on
slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...
s." The enslaved people incoming to the Anglo-American colonies were at high risk both mentally and physically. The
Middle Passage The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods (first ...
alone accounted for roughly 10% of all deaths of trafficked African people. Some experts believe that one out of every three enslaved people died before ever reaching their African port of departure. It should be mentioned that the majority of Anglo-American enslaved people came from Western Central Africa. These factors and others caused many enslaved people on arrival to feel alienated, fragile, and that death was right around the corner. The conditions suffered by slaves during the voyages were diabolical. The enslaved people were placed in close quarters, fed barely enough to keep them alive, and oftentimes they fell victim to diseases contracted prior to the voyage. The slaves would not see sunlight during this period. They were prone to both weight loss and scurvy. The living and working conditions in the Lesser Antilles were excruciating for the enslaved people who were brought in to work the slave labour camps. The average lifespan of a enslaved person after "adjusting" to the climate and environmental conditions of Jamaica was expected to be less than two decades. This was due to their limited familiarity and immune defense against the diseases and illnesses present in Jamaica. Disease decimated incoming enslaved people populations. Attempts were made to help curtail the problem, but ultimately were fruitless. To help protect their investments, most enslavers would not immediately give the hardest tasks to the newest enslaved people. Enslavers would also set up a walled area away from the veteran enslaved people in order to stymie the spread of disease. These areas would contain 100–200 slaves at any time. Later, after new enslaved people had been bought, they would be placed into the care of older and more experienced slaves who were already accustomed to the labour camps in hopes of increasing their chances for survival. Examples of tasks assigned to new slaves include planting and constructing buildings. Though newer enslaved people typically formed supportive relationships with veteran enslaved people these relationships were not always positive, and abuse did occur. Sugar production in the Lesser Antilles was a very grisly business. On Jamaica from 1829 to 1832 the average mortality rate for slaves on sugar plantations was 35.1 deaths per 1000 enslaved people. The most dangerous part of the sugar plantation was the cane planting. Cane planting during this era consisted of clearing land, digging the holes for the plants, and more. Overseers used the whip in an attempt to both motivate and punish the human beings they enslaved. The slaves themselves were also working and living with barely adequate nourishment and in times of hard work would often be starved. This contributed to low birth rates and the horrifically high mortality rates for the slaves. Some experts believe that the average infant mortality at plantations to be 50% or even higher. This extremely high rate of infant mortality meant that the slave population who existed in the Lesser Antilles was not self-sustaining, thus requiring a constant importation of new slaves. Living and working conditions on non-sugar plantations was considered to be better, however, only marginally.


Abolition

The institutionalised enslavement of human beings from African heritage was first abolished by the French Republic in 1794, but
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
revoked that decree in 1802. On March 29th 1815, Napoleon abolished the slave trade but the decree did not come into effect until 1826. France re-abolished the institution of slavery in its colonies in 1848 with a general and unconditional emancipation.
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
's Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the trafficking of enslaved human beings in the British Empire. It was not until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 that the institution finally was abolished, but on a gradual basis.Dryden, John (1992), "Pas de Six Ans!", In: ''Seven Slaves & Slavery: Trinidad 1777–1838'', by Anthony de Verteuil, Port of Spain, pp. 371–379. Since enslavers in the various colonies (not only the Caribbean) were losing their unpaid labourers, the government set aside £20 million for compensation but it did not offer the former slaves any reparations. The colony of
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
was left with a shortage of labour. This shortage became worse after the abolition of the institution of slavery in 1833. To deal with this, white plantation owners on Trinidad transported
indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
s from the 1810s until 1917. Initially
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
people, free
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
n people, and Portuguese people from the island of
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
were imported, but they were soon supplanted by
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n people who started arriving from 1845. Indentured Indians would prove to be an adequate alternative for the plantations that formerly relied upon slave labour. In addition, numerous former slaves migrated from the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
to Trinidad to work. In 1811 on the island of Tortola in the
British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...
, Arthur William Hodge, a wealthy slaveholder, plantation owner and Council member, became the first person to be hanged for the
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of an enslaved person. In 1833, the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, permanently abolishing the instutiton of slavery in Britain's overseas colonies. The Act also stipulated that all formerly enslaved people would undergo a system of
apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...
whereby they would work for their former enslavers for a period of time; how long this would last would be up to the government authorities in each British colony. On 1 August 1834 in Trinidad, an unarmed group of mainly elderly Black people being addressed by the Governor at Government House about the new apprenticeship laws, began chanting: "''Pas de six ans. Point de six ans''" ("Not six years. No six years"), drowning out the voice of the Governor. Peaceful protests continued until a resolution to abolish "apprenticeship" was passed and ''de facto'' freedom was achieved. This made Trinidad the first British colony with enslaved people to completely abolish the institution of slavery. The successful resistance of the implementation of the full six-year term of the Apprenticeship system and Abolition of Slavery in Trinidad was marked by ex-slaves and free people of colour joining in celebrations through the streets in what became known as their annual
Canboulay Canboulay (from the French ''cannes brulées'', meaning burnt cane) is a precursor to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. The festival is also where calypso music has its roots. It was originally a harvest festival, at which drums, singing, dancing and ch ...
celebrations. This event in Trinidad influenced full emancipation in the other British colonies which was legally granted two years ahead of schedule on 1 August 1838. After Great Britain abolished the institution of slavery, it began to pressure other nations to do the same. France abolished the institution of slavery in 1848, in its colonies of
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
,
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
,
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
and
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
.


See also

*
Amelioration Act 1798 The Amelioration Act 1798Leeward Islands Act No. 36, vol. 1., The Laws of the Island of Antigua Consisting of the Acts of the Leeward Islands, 1690–1798, and Acts of Antigua, 1668–1845 (London: Samuel Bagster, 1805–46) (sometimes referred ...
* Barbados Cricket Buckle * Barbados Slave Code *
Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, formerly the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership, is a research centre of University College, London (UCL) which focuses on revealing the impact of Britis ...
* Code Noir *
Demerara rebellion of 1823 The Demerara rebellion of 1823 was an uprising involving more than 10,000 enslaved people that took place in the colony of Demerara-Essequibo ( Guyana). The rebellion, which began on August 18, 1823, and lasted for two days, was led by slaves ...
* Slavery in Haiti *
Slavery in the British Virgin Islands In common with most Caribbean countries, slavery in the British Virgin Islands forms a major part of the history of the Territory. One commentator has gone so far as to say: "One of the most important aspects of the History of the British Vir ...
* Sugar plantations in the Caribbean


References


Bibliography

* Beckles, Hilary McD., and Andrew Downes. "The Economics of Transition to the Black Labor System in Barbados, 1630–1680," ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History,'' Vol. 18, No. 2 (Autumn 1987), pp. 225–24
in JSTOR
*Brown, Vincent. "The Reaper's Garden" (Harvard University Press, 2008) *Bush, Barbara. "Hard Labor: Women, Childbirth, and Resistance in British Caribbean Slave Societies", in David Barry Gaspar and Darlene Clarke Hine, eds, ''More Than Chattel: Black Women and Slavery in the Americas'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996), pp. 193–217. *Bush, Barbara. ''Slave Women in Caribbean society, 1650–1838'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990). * Butler, Kathleen Mary. ''The Economics of Emancipation: Jamaica & Barbados, 1823–1843'' (1995
online edition
* Dunn, Richard S., "The Barbados Census of 1680: Profile of the Richest Colony in English America," ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' vol. 26, no. 1 (January 1969), pp. 3–30
in JSTOR
*Giraldo, Alexander

(2007) *Miller, Joseph C., "The Way of Death: West Central Africa," (The University of Wisconsin Press, 1988) * Molen, Patricia A. "Population and Social Patterns in Barbados in the Early Eighteenth Century," ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' Vol. 28, No. 2 (April 1971), pp. 287–30
in JSTOR
*Morrissey, Marietta. ''Slave women in the New World'' (Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1989). * Ragatz, Lowell Joseph. "Absentee Landlordism in the British Caribbean, 1750–1833," ''Agricultural History,'' Vol. 5, No. 1 (January 1931), pp. 7–2
in JSTOR
*Reddock, Rhoda E. "Women and Slavery in the Caribbean: A Feminist Perspective", ''Latin American Perspectives'', 12:1 (Winter 1985), 63–80. *Sainvil, Talisha.

(2007) Monday, November 26, 2007. * Sheridan; Richard B. ''Sugar and Slavery: An Economic History of the British West Indies, 1623–1775'' (University of the West Indies Press, 1994
online edition
* Smallwood, Stephanie. "Saltwater Slavery" (First Harvard University Press, 2008) * Thomas, Robert Paul. "The Sugar Colonies of the Old Empire: Profit or Loss for Great Britain?" ''Economic History Review'' Vol. 21, No. 1 (April 1968), pp. 30–4
in JSTOR
*Couti, Jacqueline. "Dangerous Créole Liaisons, Sexuality and Nationalism in French Caribbean Discourses from 1806 to 1897" (Liverpool University Press, 2016)


External links

*Phillip, Nicole (2002)

– Conference paper published by the University of the West Indies. *Watson, Karl (2001)
Slavery and Economy in Barbados
In ''British History: Empire & Sea Power''. The BBC, online series.
Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and JusticeArchaeology, plantations and slavery in the French West Indies
– Video by ''Manioc''.
Slave community foodways on a French colonial plantation : zooarchaeology at Habitation Crève Cœur, Martinique
– Video by ''Manioc''.
Le cas particulier qui regarde les négresses : The Black Female Body in the Making of Eighteenth-Century French Subjectivity and Citizenship
– Video by ''Manioc''.
Charles Auguste Bisette and The Police des Noirs in the French Atlantic
– Video by ''Manioc''. *''French Guiana'',
Manioc
* Rodway, James. ''Guiana : British, Dutch and French'', London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1912
Manioc
* Edwards, Bryan. ''An historical survey of the French colony in the island of St. Domingo : comprehending a short account of its ancient government, political state, population, productions, and exports ; a narrative of the calamities which have desolated the country ever since the year 1789, with some reflections on their causes and probable consequences : and a detail of the military transactions of the British army in that island to the end of 1794'', London, John Stockdale, 1797
Manioc
{{Sugar Slavery in the French West Indies">Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
Slavery in the British West Indies History of the Caribbean Agriculture in the Caribbean History of sugar British colonization of the Americas French colonization of the Americas