Division of Labor on the Sugar Plantations

The Use of Labour on the Sugar Plantation
The labour force on an estate was divided into two main groups: white
employees and the slaves.
1. White employees
They occupied the managerial and supervisory positions on the estates. The
highest in rank among them was the overseer or manager.
The overseers had quite a lot to do. Apart from the overall supervision of the
estates activities, they had to ensure that all the material, equipment and
other necessities for the production process was right there on the
plantation. For example, he had to see to it that the staves and horses were
ordered in time, as well as flour and saltfish for the slaves, that the mills
were in working order and that there was adequate machetes and hoes for
the field slaves.
Other white employees included clerks, bookkeepers and so on. Their job
was to keep an accurate record of the estates assets and equipment. They
recorded the number of hogsheads made, the number of carts/wains in stock
and so on. We use the word employee because they got paid.
2. The slaves
This was undisputedly the largest percentage of the labour force. They did
not receive wages for their work. There were two types of slaves: African
slaves and Creole slaves but for the purposes of work, the slaves were
divided into three main groups:
A. Domestic slaves
These were considered to be the crème de la crème of the slave population
because they worked in the Great House and received favors and rewards
from its occupants. For example, ‘’hand me down’’ clothes and left over food.
The mere fact that they worked in close proximity to the owners seemed to
have been enough, for them to be considered as ‘’privileged’’ by some of the
other slaves.
Their workload was also comparatively lighter. True, the job was more
demanding, since they had to respond to the whims and fancy and every cry
of the owner and his family, but at least they did not have to toil in the
blazing heat under the watchful eye of a slave driver who was not afraid to
use his whip.
On the other hand, their daily working conditions depended upon the very
nature of the master and his family that they served. Some were spiteful, illtempered
and grossly inhumane. Still, others were demanding and gave
them quaint jobs to perform such as scratching their feet! They did not
always have a scheduled time to begin or end work. In the event of a
function (party, ball, etc.), they could begin the work of preparing the food
from before dawn and still be kept up on their feet all night.
This group of slaves included: washerwomen, butlers, cooks, nursemaids,
and coachmen.
B. Artisans/Skilled slaves
These were considered to be the most valuable slaves on the estate because
of the importance of their job in converting the cane to the export product
known as raw muscovado sugar. This group of slaves worked in the
workshops and factory.
C. Field/Praedial Slaves
These represented the largest portion of the slave population. They did the
most strenuous work in the fields. They had three main seasons of work:
planting, maintenance and reaping or harvest time. This large group is
further divided into three gangs. A slave driver was placed in charge of each
gang. He was a fellow slave who has been given a bit of authority over the
gang. He was expected to use the whip to keep the gang working.
First Gang: the strong and healthy slaves, both male and females made up
this group. They were responsible for the planting of the cane to include the
preparation of the land for planting. At harvest time, they were the ones
charged with the responsibility of quickly cutting the canes and tying them in
bundles.
Second Gang: the young boys and girls about ten to twelve years old,
pregnant and convalescing slaves made up this group. They did the lighter
work of weeding and harrowing.
Third Gang: this gang is called the ‘’pickney’’ gang. These children of six or
seven years are supervised by the elderly as they carried out their assigned
tasks of weeding the gardens, carrying sticks for fire for the slaves’ meals,
collecting yam peels etc., to feed the estate animals and any other general
light work that was deemed suitable for their age, size and strength.
The ‘’guinea birds’’, as the newly arrived Africans were called, would be
assigned to Creole slaves who were to train them and teach them the new
language. This is part of what was known as the ‘’seasoning period’’.

Social relations on a typical 18th Century Sugar Estate
It is fair to argue that there was limited social contact between the slaves
and their masters. This was to preserve the distance between them as well
as the notion of superiority of the whites and inferiority of the blacks. But
there were would be some instances when they were forced to relate to each
other.
In what instances and circumstances would they be forced to relate
to each other?
Planters, overseers and white employees came into contact when issuing
orders, in their supervisory capacity, and when carrying out punishments.
Planters and Domestic slaves:

Domestic slaves had the most day to day contact or relations with the
whites. They had many personal tasks to perform that brought them into
contact with each other, for example, serving meals, assisting with baths and
so on.
Overseer and Field/ Artisan slaves
He was the one with the constant day to day relating at roll call, supervising
the issue of rations be it food or clothing (osnaburg) and so on. He was
expected to stand by or sit astride his horse constantly supervising the
planting and reaping of the cane as well as the conversion of the juice to
sugar.
He was usually the person to whom the slaves reported their ‘’illnesses’’. He
had to determine if the slaves’ illness warranted being sent from the fields to
the ‘’hospital’’. At times, he even had to dispense medicines!
He also had sexual relations with the female slaves. They were also the ones
who prepared his meals, washed his clothes, and saw to all his other social
needs.
The Masters and the Field Slaves
The whites came into contact with the field slaves chiefly at holiday time. For
example, the planter sometimes sat on their verandah and watched the
slave parade at Christmas time. He would laugh and call to them. Some
slaves were often invited to perform acts of amusements at parties,
especially the sambo or quashie characters.
Sexual Contact:

The planters conveniently thought of their slaves as property and as such felt
that they had the unquestionable right to do what they wanted with them. To
make matters worse, they lived in a society that ‘’turned a blind eye’’ to the
sexual relations with and ill treatment of the slaves.
White women vs Slave women
There was much resentment between the white women and the enslaved
woman who was ‘’involved’’ with the white man. As a result, relations
between were hostile. The white woman would try to hurt or maim the
enslaved. She would often complain that tasks done by her were not done
well hoping to get the planter to demote her to the fields. If that didn’t work
she would give her the most demeaning and degrading jobs to perform.
Some white or coloured women in the towns who kept taverns and brothels
owned one or two female slaves. The patrons and clients of these business
places were sailors, military officers and so on.