Carib Civ Book Report

Caribbean Civilization Book Report

Title Of My Paper

This piece seeks to examine and analyze John Campbell’s “Beyond Massa sugar management in the British Caribbean, 1770-1834” published by Calaloux publications. The book is set in the 17th to 18th century. It explores slavery on Golden Groove plantation in Jamaica highlighting that the main intention of the plantation was to make money of the African slaves’ labour. The author, John Campbell, since 2001 to present is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies. He is fully engrossed in research on the Caribbean, with his major focus being on its diasporic nature and contemporary historical issues. In his book the author described and explored the running of the plantation and in so doing integrated a rich history and legacy in this novel. By the use of revisionism he unveils the independence of the slaves, social stratification, gender issues and uncovers certain attributes for example the HRM management. He heightened all his points by incorporating, proof in terms of clippings from diaries and statistics. This book is of rich value and given the price was very affordable. The time, effort research and quality of information deposited into this book is priceless. Revisionism is where the history of the past is reconstructed or reinterpreted, relevant to a particular context. This is an extensive process where the historian uses both primary and secondary sources as evidence to support their newly formed ideology. This is greatly used throughout the novel. In this book we see how the slaves lived in a form of independent society. They were an intelligent group that manipulated and frustrated the plantation system with their strategies being resistance. We even saw how some women were not backseat riders but a strong willed team that undertook many choices and utilized many opportunities to cause havoc. We see how movement up the ladder was possible and that even white women of that time had a chance of running the plantation business. The author was not bias. Being male in gender he not only spoke both about men, in fact he dedicated an entire chapter to discuss the role of women. The men shared different jobs to the women. Men were placed in the factory where they acquired different skills. The plantation owners always wanted more men than women and this was discussed where it was mentioned that women were not capable of performing certain task such as “cutting copper wood” and working in the “boilers “ and “distillers”1. Women mostly worked in the fields. Their duties were mainly planting, cutting and ploughing. It is usually argued that women had a tougher time as some were beaten while pregnant, they were forced to perform difficult task during pregnancy and some were even victims of rapes. They were mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually and psychologically abused. Women were thought of as inferior and those that had limited advantages. The plantation was a male dominated society and the females were oppressed. From the late seventeenth to the late eighteenth century in Jamaica, fifty-two to fifty-three per cent of enslaved people listed at probate were men.2 Women were only seen and mostly necessitated as reproductive machines to increase the labour population. However the author gives women a different reputation in chapter five. They were not identified as powerless he revised this idea. He states they had the ability to affect the managerial system through “accommodationist policies and resistance strategies”3 . Women had many manipulative strategies. Most of them used sex, participated in resistance, bonded with each other each other as a tool against the slave master. They had many privileges one was working in the great house and having contact with plantation information. John Campbell opposes the fact that women black slaves were victims as they were able to manipulate both sex and power. Women had some kind of advantage in that if the master was attracted to a woman the next day she will be relieved of field work and graduate to the great house. In page 43 we are exposed to Thomas Thistlewood’s infatuation with Jenny and removing her from field work. We learn of a few brave and powerful women for example Nanny Maroon who led a group of people into a victorious battle against a force of white men. In so doing she was respected by all for her female leadership. Female networks were formed to support one another. In page 102 Mary Prince gave an account of how her life was saved through a woman. These support groups served as power competitors for one another opposing the plantation’s power centre. 4 The slaves relied on their own medication refusing to go to the plantation hospital. The women also had strong influence on the men and as a result they were separated on the slave ships. Mary tells of women that manipulated “abortion and infanticide”5 this affected the growth rate of the population as a result directly impacting on the quantity of labour . All these factors contributed to show that how women were a group of intelligent people using whatever tricks or resources at their disposal and to make a revolt on the plantation system. With this revised idea we understand how the female slaves were not weak or inferior but a strong minded and intelligent species. Another topic of discussion was the ability of white women during that century to have leadership or authoritative roles especially in the plantation ruling system. White women similar to the black were known to have no input in the managing or running of the plantation system. However Dr. Campbell challenged this view .We learn of a few women that were owners plantation system and some even had a great or direct input in its running. Mrs. Arcedekne the mother of Mr. Chaloner Arcedekne the owner of Golden Groove Plantation embraced new opportunities offered by the plantation “ as a centre of power”6. She was described as a “ up to date business woman.”7. Her actions resulted in Taylor taking orders from both the son and mother. She was described as a bold women and one who knew her way around business matter and this was all proven by her selection of the best lawyer to fight a case. The author also mentioned that there were other women who accepted leading roles in Jamaica estate. Another revised idea was that the system allowed for movement up and down the managerial pyramid. Slaves go up the hierarchy where some even represented their masters or acting on behalf of their master. Movement up could have been based on skin colour, skills and sexual relations. As mentioned before women favoured by the slave master were moved from working in the field to the great house. As a result of miscegnation and children being born with a white phenotype they were separated and placed in “trusted positions as house slaves”8. Some of the planters freed “ their mulatto children9” . There were also instances where there was a downgrade in the system an example described in the book was where Aston Warner a former elite worker was sent to become a gang member. The slaves are portrayed in this book as being independent. An idea that was new. As mentioned before they utilized majority of their skills to form resistance. Slaves knew the value of their work. They understood that planters were in control of labour but not their minds. So by using resistance they sabotaged the plantation. The plantation depended on them, not the other way around. Without these slaves there will be no production and no profit. As a result of the need for importation of labour, the estates faced dangerous white to black imbalances.10 The plantation then sought different ways to appease to the slaves to ensure that they don’t cause any revolts. The author mentioned that the enslaved could have achieved their own gain by frustrating the management. Later on we see some male slaves were made supervisors to encourage the work force. This also happened to the female where some were in charge of “secondary or weeding gangs”11 . After 1780 many changes took place a laying in house was built for pregnant women, there was inoculation and finally the enslaved were “ being treated as people rather than pieces of property.” Housing was better and even marriages were allowed. We were also introduced to the HRM scheme of management. HRM was a new field of analysis which focuses on the interaction of management and labour in the work place 12. In the opening chapters we are introduced to chattel slavery which is known as slavery that is forced upon you and it was this type of slavery that was used in the Caribbean .The Africans were referred to as enslaved that is “en” meaning it was against their will. They were thought to be ideal for this type of work because they had no souls and so would be ideally suited for the inhumane work of the estates.13. This is what the HRM scheme entitled. This system was described as the “power center”14. The success of the plantation depended or relied on its proper management. Overall it referred to the system by which the plantation was run with the main intention of maximizing profit. Whatever adjustment or leniency actions taken for the slaves was done with no intentions of compassion . Everything governed under this system was in terms of money. Labours was executed in two ways one was to drive the workers and the other was for optimal production. Slaves were badly treated and punished when they were not performing efficiently. What the slaves really wanted at the end of the day was to be completely free. The white had many insecurities and one was being outnumbered by the slaves. Due to this insecurity the HRM techniques implemented was physical abuse. Mangers thought that once they owned the slaves they were entitled to do whatever they wanted with them. When faced with economic issues the HRM formed alternative ways to combat this loss. They began things like jobbing where certain groups of people were rented to estates that had a labour shortage. They then decided to bribe workers to get better labour by giving them incentives. Later on we saw how the whip did not solve the problem. This HRM by further alternating their restrictions and regulations on the life of the slaves eventually lead to improving their living conditions and returning humanity to them. Another significant topic was the “power center” as mentioned previously, was the foundation of the HRM. This meant that all the affairs or issues revolved around the head of the plantation or the great house. However this term was then modified the “power of center “15meaning that it was the other way around. That is the white managers or plantation depended on the slaves and other external factors as they had the ability to slow down production. Other external factors was where the white women stepped into in the plantation managerial affairs, where the women willingly took abortions and the many resistance strategies. By exploring this system the reader got a clear view of how the plantation managerial operations were carried out and the significance of appealing to the slaves to promote a greater work force. John Campbell incorporated many statistical data into his book. For example in page 25 there was a table showing records of babies born within the time period of 1766-1798. In page 42 there was a managerial pyramid where we see how stratification of work group allowed for upward movement and downward movement that was in terms of skin colour, labour skills and sexual relations with the white. On page 47 there was a managerial chart illustrating the Administrative divisions .In page 109 there was a table displaying between 1783 and 1802 the cost of sugar in the London market. These charts were well referenced sources and served as an authenticator and proof for his acclamations. It also aided the reader in getting a better understanding of the ideology put forward. They were simple and further assisted in the comprehension.

The book was very easy to grasp. Being a student from the Faculty of Science and Technology and having a void background in history or literature no difficulties were experienced. All of the terms were clear and understandable. There were no problems encountered with the vocabulary as all of the expressions were aforementioned during tutorials and lectures. As a result the book was a smooth and enjoyable read. One aspect of input however was the placement of pictures to enhance or break the wordy effect. Each chapter could have been assigned a picture to summarize what the section entailed. This visual aid would have appealed to the readers as well as allow the imagination to gain some perspective. Throughout this novel the author tries to take on the perspective of all individuals of the plantation and forms a conclusion that the plantation system’s main intention was for productivity by all means. As a result of the white never getting to understand the nature of the slaves their scheme was not successful. The reasons their encountered many setbacks with their system and all the problems faced by the slaves, was simply a result of all the different mechanisms the slaves practiced to counteract the system and gain freedom .Through this novel which comprised a great volume of research and relevant statistics many concepts were cleared and revised. It is not accurate to say that women were an inferior group during slavery. It was quite vivid that the plantation was dependent upon the slaves. In the plantation system moving up in society was possible at that time and there were cases of white women having a great input in the system or the running of the plantation. The novel was very informative as a great deal of knowledge has been gained and with the many revised ideas slavery in the British Caribbean is better comprehended.

Bibliography

Colbey Alan and Simpson C. Victor. Trajectories of Freedom .Jamaica : University of the West Indies Press ,2013.
Higman, B.W. Plantation Jamaica 1750-1780. Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, 2013.
Morgan, Kenneth . Slavery, Atlantic Trade and the British Economy , 1660-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Bibliography: Colbey Alan and Simpson C. Victor. Trajectories of Freedom .Jamaica : University of the West Indies Press ,2013. Higman, B.W. Plantation Jamaica 1750-1780. Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, 2013. Morgan, Kenneth . Slavery, Atlantic Trade and the British Economy , 1660-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.