Most of these plantations grew sugar and cotton; the slaves worked grueling hours in the fields with the only compensation being some food and a place to sleep at the end of the day. Their living quarters were bare, with no beds or blankets and very poor hygienic conditions . The majority of the field working slaves were women, who were forced to work through their pregnancies which resulted in a very high infant mortality rate on the plantations. If they contracted diseases, they were left to die, since their owners did not consider it worthwhile to spend any resources on their welfare or recovery. Even children were forced into labor from an early age, mostly used as domestic help inside the house .
Severe punishments such as whipping with lashes and starvation, were meted out in case slaves were even suspected of a wrongdoing; mostly it was when the filed supervisors or owners believed that they were not working as hard or as long as they ought to.
Despite this inhuman treatment, slaves on plantations found ways to retain their dignity by forming strong communal ties. Since folklore and music were integral to the African American culture, slaves living together, considered themselves a family, and reproduced drums, mandolins and banjos that the men would play and women and children would dance to on happy occasions like marriages, childbirths or a cultural/religious festival day .
Despite the owners’ attempts to convert all slaves to Christianity, they stubbornly retained the mysticism and religious stories that had been passed down through generations. Since they couldn’t openly reject their masters’ orders of listening to the sermons of the Christian Missionaries who visited plantations, the slaves heard the sermons and even adopted some of the teachings . Yet, as they understood more of the Bible, they also began to talk amongst themselves about the fate of their masters who treated them so cruelly, and of the importance of all human beings being treated as equals in the eyes of God.
For anyone forced to abandon their homeland and live in a foreign country, it is imperative to keep reminding each other of your roots as the slaves did. Retaining your language, culture and religious beliefs is crucial to not lose your identity amidst oppression. It is important to keep reminding yourself of your origins, celebrating and mourning together according to the norms that were passed down to you and not forgetting what makes you different even as you try to fit in, in a foreign land.
Works Cited
Rice, Alexander. "Forming a Slave Community." 21 July 2015. Boundless. Online. 3 April 2016.
Sambol-Tosco, Kimberly. "The Slave Experience: Education, Arts and Culture." 13 March 2012. Slavery And The Making Of Africa. Online. 3 April 2016.
