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Felisha Ramjohn

Dr. Campbell

Foun 1101

6 November 2014

Beyond massar, a schloarly book written by Dr John Campbell, published by calaloux

publications in 2012 carries us on an indept journey into the complex world of chattel slavery in

the British Caribbean during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. John Campbell a lecturer

in the department of history at the university of the west indies received his second Masters of

philosophy as well as his Ph.D from Cambridge University. England. Since 2001, Dr Campbell a

reputable and highly intelligent lecturer has passionately lectured at the UWI where he

specializes on aspects of Caribbean civilization and culture.

Beyond massar in its entity,can be described as a revisionist book, revisionism is critically

examining established theories and hypothesis in order to test their validity. It revises the

standard notion, that control and submission of the enslaved people was merely achieved through

chains and whips and that the enslaved were completely helpless and powerless to the schemes

of the white managers.Being wholly impartial it offered insight on the experiences of the female

enslaved population and their important role on the plantation. According to sociologist C wright

Mills the sociological imagination requires us above all to 'think ourselves away' from the

familiar routine of our daily lives in able to look at them a new.

In context Beyond Massa requires readers to think themselves away from the familiar literature

that has lived for so long in order to look at them through new lenses.
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Carribbean history has forever been complicated when ask what is Caribbean history ?

There is some level of confusion as to what this really means.Caribbean history is one that is

eurocentric in nature in that it has been written through the whites perspective. The history of

the Caribbean is distorted and corrupt and biased on all levels. Taken for exoample is a letter

written by a plantermaliciously given in all their dealing deceitful great drunkards seldom at

peace with their neighbors ignorant of discipline hardly above beasts(Campbell 50).

Only until the arrival of the whites has Caribbean history been officially documented.

When speaking about history it's important to ask, whose story ? Is it merely his story, and who

is he, is he the white elite man or the enslaved indgenous or African man? Further what about her

story?It has been a challenge for the Caribbean person, one searching for his/ her identity in

knowing the truth. According to Mark Twain A lie can travel half way around the world while

the truth is putting on its shoes.

Beyond Massar is definitely not the first to revise the system of plantation slavery, works

like Eugene Genovese's Roll jordan Roll, William Dusinberre's Them Dark Days have all sought

to include the enslaved perspective into their accounts of plantation life and management(11).

However these were basesd on the American south .This book has been written to bridge the

gap in the analysis of managerial stategies from the perspective of the enslaved in any of the

British West Indian sugar colonies,hence one can see the importance of such a book.

The author's purpose of this book is to firstly redefine history, in the process of doing

this an inducing and effectual argument is developed, to prove that even though the enslaved was
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branded as chattel and seen as merely a commodity or uncivilised animals, coercion could not

have never been the only means used by the sugar managers to exercise contorl over the

enslaved. The book is not stating that it was not often used but rather, the system and structure of

the sugar industry was far more complex and organised than it documented. The the social

relationships that occured betwen enslaved workers and white managers is also highlighted. The

argument that may take the reader by surprise is that, in relation to the center of power the

elite enslaved men, and women both white and black had some form of authority in the daily

running of the plantation. To increses the credibility of the text the author examined archival

materials in Trinidad, Jamaica, and the united kingdom.

Parliment, prior to the legislation (the abolition of the slave act ), had been already passed

over 100 laws accommodating the slave trade those laws allowed the slaves to be treated as

property, not as people.Many died, yes some were murdered in the most criminal circumstances,

with no redress.

To some readers the book may come across as drawing away from the brutal reality of

slavery which most persons will want to know of. It is true that things like branding and

beheading occurred.However,not with the intention of downplaying the evils of slavery which

can be fully understood when read ,Beyond Massar simply draws attention to another aspect of

this harsh cold reality of the slave production.This book builds a most impressive, elucidate,

clear cut, logical but complex argument which states that managers had no choice but to

implement the HRM(human resouce management) strategy to it's management style and turn

away from coercive measures as the dominant method of control .This point was a persausive
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one put across by the writer, and could be understood by one who may have only believed that

management syle was one based only on coercion, it effevctively opens the reader's mind to

another side of the plantation system.

One who is familiar with managemet studies would be familiar with the human resourse this

perspective is one that diverges from the scientific management approach which believed that

workers could be retooled like machines, their physical and mental gears recalibrated for better

productivity. this approach to management ignores the social context and workers needs which

led to increased conflict and sometimes violent clashes between manager and employees( Daft

38).

This can describe the way in which managers treated the enslaved people, and because of

this there was a constant struggle between masters and slaves manifested in the slave revolts to

be specific the roaring marron community. A large part to play in these revoltts was the

ideologial clarity of the enslaved. Th enslaved Aficans coming out of west African were not

foreign to slavery, what they were haunted by was the dehumanisation of this form of chattel

slavery,which they resisted in every way possible. So clearly the Africans did not simply sell

themselves into this type of slavery hence the revolts and the established marron

communities,This is only another misconception that has been fed to Caribbean people. They

actually thought that this type of slavery was akin to that which occurred in African society,

which maintained the humanity of the enslaved.

The switch from the scientific approach to the HRM apprroach which believes that

contented cows give more milk, so satisfied workers will give more work(daft 43).This was
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firstly taken up by taken up by Simon Taylor a manager, this did not mean that Taylor loved his

enslaved people but was based on enconomical factors and was done to increase production

which was made lucid,and well developed in the book. He did not as the book imply have

change in heart, heard amazing grace or was spoken to by God about his sinful ways.

Simon Taylor believed that negros was wortless Rascals (51) who knew no civalisation

like every other white manager.However he was intelligent man who got a dose of reality and

realized that if the enslaved people continuously rebels, or if they were killed or injured there

would be a cut in production/profits .Letters presented in the book which Taylor wrote to his

head Chaloner Arccedekne proves this . In this, he states that by saving the negroes we shall

intinsically raise the value of the capital(51). He took this so seriously that he dismissed any

submanager found guilty of flogging the estate's enslaved people.

In 1789 he dissmissed his very productive overseer even though he was a very active

stirring man because he had taken up a new practise of knocking down the negros with a stick,

hedge rail or what comes to hand (18). In correspondence he advised that punishment be done in

the work house,not on the estate, and that flogging not be done in anger (52). Taylor was no

plantation angel, he believed that the enslaved were an expensive investment that needed to be

used efficently. This view influenced taylor's management style.Taylor saw that the enslaved

actually had the power to make or break plantation operations, this caused for collaboration

between the planter and the enslaved person .

It was made clear to managers in the eighteenth century that production could not be

forced, and that voluntary coooperation was needed from the enslaved. Taylor had a strategy, to
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achieve this, he sought to appease the enslaved so that they would work well in return. He

selected a few workers and rewarded them in an attempt to encourage a higher work ethic and to

attempt to reduce the the high incidence of revolts on the plantations.

To date in 1690 a major revolt arose on the sutton estate in the parish of Clarendon, and

the success of these revolts encouraged further revolts on Jamaican plantations(74). It was clear

to them that they were out numbered an so they thought that if they had black informants they

will be secure. This marked the development of the elite enslaved, those selected were trusted

by the white planters and were intended to be sub managers and assist the white managers in

every phase of the sugar production process.

The first thing one may ask is, why would the enslaved help those people? This

introduces the topic of the plantation being a center of power.When approaching this topic the

writing style is a bit complex , and requires readers full, undivided attention. However with some

reflextion on the book one can surely identify the difference in the plantation being a center of

power rather than a power center.

The appointed elite enslaved were given titles such as elite slaves slave drivers,

confidential slaves,skilled slaves, head slaves. They were placed in positions that allowed them

to receive rewards that the other slaves could not obtain,they interacted with the white managers

and could sway things in their favour or in the enslaved favor.It can then be understood why an

enslave may want be an elite, who would not want better treatment even at the expense of others

in a desperate situation such a s slavery.

Colonial records attest to the many times that denunciation made by some of these elite
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enslaved people provided key information for thwarting revolts and other work disruptions on

the estate. In quick time the whole plot to revolt was exposed and six of the key conspirators

were burned alive while eleven others were beheaded and dragged through the streets.(76)

Elevation of the slaves were not wholly frowned upon by the enslaved people as they

saw the bigger picture.the elite enslaved had a strategic plan, by being affiliated with the planter

class they could learn the ins and outs of the system.Taken for example while records shows that

the enslaved were working for managements best interests many of them had different motives.

The book speaks of the analysis on Robert Gellately's, one which is incisively applicable and

relevant.His application of german confidential informers in nazi germany was compared to the

enlite enslaved.

The Jewish informs saturated the Gestapo with helpful snippets of information that led to

arrest but, intentionally or not because of the abundance of rumors and misinformation involved,

they also created a exaggerated climate of fear(86).With this information overload the managers

focusing on police work and security may ignore other oppresing programmes.Also in relation

rebellions the elite managers were most dissapointed when they found that the main drivers

behind the Christmas rebellion was head and confidential slaves. Clearly it can be seen that the e
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