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Selling Slaves in
the Caribbean
With the first
sighting of land, the captain of the Henrietta
Marie would have ordered slaves on deck in
small groups for fresh air and grooming to
improve their appearance for sale. Men were
shaved, sores were dressed, and rations were
improved as they approached their destination of
Jamaica on May 18, 1700, indicating that she
spent almost fourteen weeks on the Middle
Passage.
Slave Auction
Announcement
Illustrated advertisement, from the
"Charleston Gazette," 1744*
The Henrietta
Marie carried a cargo valued at about £827.
Based on the going rate of about £4 per slave
in New Calabar, this suggests that she brought
roughly 206 slaves to Jamaica. 190 slaves were
recorded sold at Port Royal by traders aboard
the Henrietta Marie.
Group of Negroes
to be sold as Slaves.**
At the time when
the Middle Passage mortality rate averaged 20%:
such a life loss of under 8% would have been
considered very low. The slaves were most likely
auctioned off in groups, with prices ranging
between £12 -£18 each, depending on the sex,
age and condition of the individual
Slaves and
Servants
Africans were not
the only ones to provide labor for the tobacco
and sugar plantations of the European
colonies.
A Women of Color
with her African Slave. 1804
In the years following the voyages of the Henrietta
Marie, Africans were not only slaves in the
Americas, they were also soldiers, sailors,
pirates, Indian fighters, maroons, fishermen,
loggers, linguists, and artisans, to name a few
of their free trade occupations. They built
communities, held slaves of their own,
participated in international commerce and
trade, waged battles and were active
participants in the geopolitical events of their
day.***
White indentured
servants were another exploited group of people
who, in return for their passage to the Americas
or the Caribbean, agreed to work for their
sponsor. Indentured servants were at the mercy
of their master: they were unpaid and had to do
whatever they were told. However, they were
bound to their master for a set period of time,
usually five years, after which they were set
free, and could expect to receive a small tract
of land from their master. While many Africans
brought to the European colonies were intended
to be life-long slaves, others, such as those
brought to Virginia in 1619, were meant to be
indentured servants.
Rebellions in
the Caribbean
As slaves in the
Americas, Africans were meant to remain in the
lowest social status for the remainder of their
lives. But slaves were constantly challenging
this life sentence. As early as 1522, the first
notable slave revolt broke out in the Spanish
colony of Hispaniola (now Haiti). Enslaved
Africans never accepted their fate, and bloody
rebellions were to continue for the next 300
years until the abolition of plantation slavery.
A Maroon
Warrior****
Many Africans
escaped slavery and banded together to form new
communities. In the Caribbean they were known as
"Maroons" and lived in the hills,
using guerilla warfare to free other slaves and
steal necessary arms and equipment. The most
famous leader was Cudjoe, whose band held out
against the British for many years.
Cudjoe making
peace with Guthrie*****
The European
Sweet Tooth
Most Europeans
had never tasted sugar before the economic
successes of the transatlantic trade made the
Caribbean product readily available. Once sugar
had been introduced, Europeans demanded large
quantities. England was a major consumer as
early as 1660. For a century and a half, sugar
remained the most valuable and largest import,
overtaken only by cotton in the 1820s.
Sugar
Cane****** |
Advertisement
for a chocolate factory******* |
The profits from
the sale of slaves from the Henrietta Marie
enabled her to load an additional substantial
cargo of West Indian goods for her voyage home
to England. Sugar was the main commodity and
cargo entries reveal that she was carrying 81
hogsheads (large barrels) of muscovado sugar.
Early view of
sugar making********
*Courtesy North Wind Picture Archives
**J.G. Stedman, Narrative of a five years
expedition against the revolted Negroes of
Surinam...from the year 1772-1777, Volume I
***unknown
****J.G. Stedman, Narrative of a five years
expedition against the revolted Negroes of
Surinam...from the year 1772-1777, Volume I
*****R.C. Dallas: The History of the Maroons
******Botanical Illustration
*******Artist unknown, Milan Italy, 19th century
********Courtesy of the William Clements Library
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