Moreover, the establishment of the provision ground system directly benefited the “master”. Planters perceived it as in their own interest to spend as little money, time or energy as possible on slave maintenance. (1) By allowing slaves to produce goods for themselves during “free” time using resources from the stock available reduced the master’s cash expenses immaculately. As well as cutting down on the cost for slave maintenance, many slave holders anticipated that the provision ground arrangement would give the slaves a “stake” in the plantation and instill in them regular habits and the virtues of work and property. (1) A sense of well being and comfort for the slaves was established in the system as well and this proved to be greatly beneficial to the planters.
As a result of the establishment of the provision ground system in the Caribbean during slavery, there were several economic and social consequences for the slave population. While provision ground cultivation arose from the planter’s attempts to reduce costs and create an interest for the slaves in the well-being of the estate, it resulted in the formation of a sphere of slave organized activity that became necessary for the operation of the plantation system. (1) The provision ground arrangement had an exceptional economics value in most islands because it was a guaranteed means of cheap labour and could be considered to be highly advantageous to the economy.
Furthermore, with the establishment of the provision ground system, there were not only economic consequences but social outcomes as well. If for the master, the provision ground was the means to guarantee cheap labour, for the slave, it was the means to elaborate an autonomous style of life. (1) The slaves benefited greatly from the system. The production of cops on a subsistence level presented them with a contingency for
enthusiasm and self-assertion by deciding what crops to produce and which measures to use to benefit the production. (3)
Consequently, the opportunities for enthusiasm and self-assertion provided by the provision ground system, contributed to social harmony. The slaves were comfortable with the degree of freedom within the slave system and therefore thought seldomly of rebelling. Through this activity, slaves themselves created and controlled a secondary economic network, which originated within the social and spatial boundaries of the plantation. (1) During free time, it was as if the slaves were not being held in captivity but rather leading their own lives that is, providing for themselves and making their own money. The provision ground free time incited a ‘relaxed’ mind, a sense of well being and also encouraged initiative and enterprise. The condition for the autonomous development of provision ground cultivation and marketing was the slaves appropriation of a portion of the labour time of the estate and its redefinition around the individual and collective interests, needs and values within and against the predominant slave relation. (1)
To conclude, it is my belief that both the slaves and the slaveholders benefited from the provision ground system. During free time, the slaves could escape the repression of slavery and pretend to be the leaders of their own economy. The social outcomes were greatest considering the fact that they would be brought together to sell their own crops. The sense of well being and ownership also came from the provision ground system, emotions not felt before the introduction of the arrangement. The bonds of dependence of the slave upon the master began to slowly dissolve and the slaves’ activities gradually transformed the foundations of slave society itself. (1) The provision ground system is stipulated by several historians to be a very significant part of the African experience because ‘it assumed new importance with changing economic and political conditions and the imminent prospect of emancipation. (1)
