Caribbean Secondary Examination Council

Caribbean History
School Based Assessment

Name of Candidate: Timothy Pahalad.

Name of Centre: Skeldon Line Path Secondary School.
Candidate Number:
Centre Code: 090048
Topic : Slavery
Name of Teacher: Naomi Abrahams
Year of Exam: 2019
Date of Submission:2019-01-16
 Table of Contents
Contents Page Number
Acknowledgements 1
Area of research 2
Rationale 3
Research Paper 4
Bibliography 8
 Acknowledgement
The successful completion of this project would not have been possible
without the assistance and cooperation of many people.
First the researcher would like to thank god almighty for the strength and
wisdom needed to complete this assessment.
Second, the researcher would like to thank his parents in assisting him
where he was weal and unsure what to do.
And finally, the researcher would like to thank sir V. Kishun in assisting
him in every step of this undertaking.

1
 Area of Research
Topic: Slavery
Research question: What are The Effects of Growth in Caribbean Industries
(mid-1600’s to early 1800’s) on Slavery?

2
 Rationale
 The Researcher’s interest was peaked about the effect of growth in
the Caribbean industry, which is why he chose the topic to examine
these affect.
 The researcher also selected the topic to gain more knowledge as to
how much slaves were affected by having to work in the plantation
industry.
 And the final reason for selecting the topic was that it was much
easier and finding out how the Effects of Growth in Caribbean
Industry impact the rest of the world.
 As a visitor who visited the plantation Mr. Lynch once said, and I
quote: “ a development in the industry will require more labour, so
labourers were to be imported in the industry.” That is why the
researcher choose to investigate in this area.

3
 What are The Effects of Growth in Caribbean Industries
(mid-1600’s to early 1800’s) on Slavery?
The process of the elimination of slavery was heavily hindered by
increased demand within growing Caribbean industries. The three major
industries that required a large amount of manpower and held back the
social reform on slavery were the sugar industry, the agricultural industry
and the mining industry.
The African slaves were brought in and placed in horrible working
conditions because of their value as durable,
skilled workers who had a good understanding
of the methods of cultivation within these
specific industries. They were viewed as
high-end durable products as opposed to
human beings because of their physique and
ability to sustain long periods of work at a high
efficiency rate while Working on the agriculture industry
also being able to battle
diseases and recover despite hot climate from injuries faster than
other ethnicities of workers or slaves. Thus,
the mentality associated with keeping these slaves labouring on had its own
social, political and economic effects.
In the mid-1600’s, the Europeans settled on Caribbean shores and
discovered that sugarcane can be extremely well cultivated on Caribbean
soil. Initially, this expensive crop offered great ways for farmers and
growers to make vast sums of money. Several of those profiteers continued
to buy up land and
went from owning
small farms, to
acreages and
ultimately large sugar
plantations. To cope
with the vast lands
and rigorous work,
which then sparked
the landowners to
Slaves being imported begin to bring in
slaves to help ramp up production. It was estimated at those times that it
cost for purchasing lands as high. Creating these slave plantations were
worth their opportunity cost because of the incessant demand for sugar
during that time.
The main phenomenon for sugar cultivation was slavery since
Barbados alone employed 80 percent of the slave population by creating a
SLAVE POPULATION huge market in terms of the demand for
7% sugar. The inception of the sugar market led
13%
to newer agricultural adventures upon its
80%
saturation. The Caribbean for instance began
to focus more on the production of other
goods such as coffee and grains. They would
Barbados Brazil others
later shift gears and supply vast amounts of
wools and meats. The common thread between these two markets was in
fact their unlikely benefactors, who were tucked away across the ocean in
Europe.
The same could be said about Brazil whose mining boom gave way
from sugar plantations. Though this
work was much more rigorous, it
did in fact offer the slaves an
opportunity to buy out their freedom
at a much easier rate. This notion
drove tens of thousands of slaves
south to Brazil and made them
somewhat of an epicentre in terms
of slave labour. Agriculture soon Slave in the mining industry

began to arise in Brazil as cocoa

and cotton began to develop their own major markets and demand.
 As time wore on, there became unrest among the slaves. Several felt
that they were being treated unfairly even as slaves. Rebellions began, and
slave owners responded mostly by
offering them insurrection by perhaps
improving working conditions or food
regiments and other times giving them
partial freedom. In 1806 there was a
slave rebellion that was done in a
peaceful manner with the hope of
raising awareness about the struggle
the slaves were undergoing. They
wanted their work rates lowered and
Slave Rebellion
wage benefits such as crops of their
own to either harvest or consume. The tides were changing, and the
European markets had shifted away from strong agricultural production.
When slavery was entering its abolishment process, the financial and
social structures within the Caribbean forced several free slaves back into a
semi-slave role. This role declared them as free persons working for wages,
however these new slaves remained underpaid and worked in horrid
conditions, some of which were just as
bad as the plantations they had longed
to escape from. It goes to show the
power of domestic markets and their
impact on the socialization of African
slaves. The slave people’s freedom
became somewhat co-dependent on the
rise and fall of domestic markets.
Should supply need to increase, the
horrid working conditions
demand for labour would need to be
increased thus thrusting many former or current slaves back into the mix.
The mentality associated with keeping these slaves labouring on
had its own social, political and economic effects. The wealthy feared that
allowing slaves to have their own rights and pursuits would ultimately push
them out of their settlements and spark wars. With change comes the notion
of greater change and the settlers weren’t prepared to change their lifestyles
to accommodate the enslaved. By keeping things at its status quo at that
time, their social lifestyles would continue in comfort and they did not want
to relinquish the level of comfort with which their lives were at.
From a political stand point, the foreigners would have to meet the
political needs of the slave people in providing them with the rights and
freedoms offered to those from their own lands. The notion of a more
successful African, Indian or Asian person worried them and loosening the
grip on their social and political desires would only create more unrest
among the non-enslaved population.
Finally, the economic setbacks
were not solely in relation to meeting the
market demands of their home nations,
but also regarding the livelihood of the
families of the plantation owners and
noblemen. With many slaves only being
able to perform well in their trade
whether it be mining, picking cotton or
harvesting sugar cane, cocoa or other
Picking of cottons
fruits of the land, the market would
saturate and those controlling that market will stand to lose money.
In a nutshell, everybody profited except the slave labourers
themselves. However, though they were beaten down, several of the African
slaves maintained a strong spirit and will to push forward. They were
thrown into a system where their pursuit of happiness and sense of
succeeding in all social and financial aspects of life were stripped from
them. As time went on the Caribbean slave people began forging a better
identity in which they would educate themselves and become self-sufficient
to continue progressing towards a brighter future.
It can therefore be concluded that the growth in three major
Caribbean industries, the sugar industry, the agricultural industry and the
mining industry, had a massive impact on the life of the enslaved and the
success and wealth related to the Caribbean industries played a huge role in
hindering the social, financial and political progress of the enslaved but
despite the harsh treatment they continue to push forward and was
successful.
 Bibliography
1. Petley, C. "British Fortunes and Caribbean Slavery." Small Axe: A
Caribbean Journal of Criticism: 144-53. Print.

2. Burnard, Trevor. "Caribbean Exchanges: Slavery and the

Transformation of English Society, 1640–1700." Slavery & Abolition:
537-39. Print.

3. Green, William A. "Supply versus Demand in the Barbadian Sugar

Revolution." Journal of Interdisciplinary History: 403. Print.

4. Littlefield, Daniel C. "What Price Sugar? Land, Labor, and

Revolution." New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids
(2008): 79-84. Print.

5. Sandiford, Keith Albert. The Cultural Politics of Sugar Caribbean

Slavery and Narratives of Colonialism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
2000. Print.

6. Solow, Barbara L. British Capitalism and Caribbean Slavery: The

Legacy of Eric Williams.

7. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge UP, 1987. Print. 7) Klein,

Herbert S. African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. New
York: Oxford UP, 1986. Print