The women constituted many of the slaves. The female slaves carried out some of the economic functions such as trading and cotton spinning. They washed clothes prepared food and done the cleaning as part of their domestic chores. Other women had more specialized laws such as a dressmaker, cook or nurse. Women stood as symbols for the American men, the powerful African men kept the female the slaves as wives. The male slaves were the ones who farmed and herded the animals. The majority of the African slaves ended up on working on farms and plantations. The fairly new farmers were given easy work to do such as weeding, gathering stones and looking after animals. There was a gang system for the people who were working on the sugar plantations. The slaves were put into groups depending on the physical fitness. The young, sick slaves were given light tasks and the strongest were given the most demanding tasks. Drivers who used the whip were watching the ‘slave gangs’. The ones that worked as porters and rowers, and learned crafts such as weaving, construction and metalwork belonged in the hands on the rich. The older slaves that had more experience were given dangerous tasks such as mining. Few of the slaves were held positions of high status and trust within the society.
Ships transported slaves. These ships were known as ‘guineamen’ or ‘slavers’. Firstly the ships that were used were made to carry human cargo but later on they built ships especially designed for purpose. People were squashed onto the ships. The ships’ cargo space was fitted with slave decks. The section was designed for adult male slaves; this was located in the forepart on the lower deck. The behind space was the section for the girls and the women. Under the most worst circumstances , the slaves could either sit up or lie down. Space for 5 men was not more than two modern single beds. The slaves were close together.
A slave law and punishment had existed ‘masters’ tried to control their slaves by introducing rules and laws that had governed every aspect of their life. The laws became hard punishment for breaking them. Black slaves were the ‘property’ of their owners, and does what ever the owners required them to do. They received no pay and were not allowed to own property, to give evidence against white people or marry legally. Similar laws applied for the British Caribbean. On most of the islands, slaves were also forbidden to become Christians or even to learn how to read and write. Punishments for law breaking were harsh. Slaves were whipped for the smallest offence, sometimes an ear or a hand was cut of, and in the worst, and in the worst cases slaves were buried alive or hanged. The conditions of slavery were so harsh that some enslaved Africans ran away and others regularly left their home plantations for short periods without permission, to visit members of their family or to escape from the constant demands of their master. The dogs, particularly the bloodhounds, were often used to track down runaways in the swamps and fields of the American South.
Slaves were branded with the mark of whoever owned them. They were branded with a hot iron. The trading base of Britain, which was Cape Cost Castle, was branded with the initials DY to indicate the Duke of York owned them.
Many of the enslaved Africans had owned they’re owned a small garden where they grew fruits and vegetables and kept a few farm animals. The slaves eat many of the food that they grew themselves but often took spare produce to the local markets and exchanged them for other goods such as clothes, which their owners would not provide them with.
There was a campaign in Britain to stop the Slave Trade. The main concern was to bring an end capture to the slaves in Africa and their sale in America. By ending the slave trade, abolitionists hope to force slave owners to treat their workers better. The campaigners argued that if planters could no longer expect regular supplies of new labour from Africa, they would have to give their slaves enough food, housing and medical care to keep them healthy and able to have children. The end of the British slave trade did not mean that slavery itself had ended, nor did the conditions for the slaves improve. Campaigners carried on fighting against slavery. The move towards independence began after the seven years of war between France and Britain. Victory gave British vast areas of North America, however, the war left the British in huge debts. The first shot of the war of the independence was in Lexington in April 1775. This war caused turmoil as it crossed trough North America for seven years. The American Revolution also led for abolition of slavery. Politicians decided to set-up anti-slavery campaign. By, 1827, every state in the North had abolished slavery. All slaves were freed immediately. In others, no existing slaves were freed, but their children were allowed to be freed once they had reached a certain stage. Many people had been given industrial jobs so slaves were not needed. The slave trade seemed to of been abolished but in 1808, thousands more slaves were imported from Africa.
Cotton was at first only grown in four states, but it spread far to the west. The more cotton there was the more slaves were imported. The growth in cotton production was huge. Cotton had become king, and cotton growing states became to been known as cotton kingdom.
Slaves marched towards Florida, where they hoped for freedom as they traveled many other slaves joined in. A person called Gabriel Prosser attempted to gather 1000 slaves to march to Richmond. However he was executed with more than 30 others. There were more slave rebellions in Caribbean than North America. Many people opposed the trade in enslaved Africans. Many black people in Britain worked for abolition. The main concern of the abolitionists was to bring an end to the capture of slaves in Africa and their sale in America. A civil war began in America on 1st January 1863, Abraham Lincoln the emancipation reclamation. This was a statement saying the slaves were from that day onwards and that they could become members of the union army. 90,000 freed blacks from the southern states fought alongside a similar number from the north. 38,000 black soldiers and sailors died.
The slavery improved in all parts of each country. Most black farmed poor land and in poor housing conditions. Few had access to an decent education or medical services. Many people left the Caribbean to search for a better life. Many former slaves ended up working for rich white men, just as they had before the civil war.
Slavery: A Chronology