The journey from Africa was a gruesome and debilitating one which saw slaves
being packed on cargo like sardines and force to the Caribbean on a journey
known as the middle passage.
The journey was only half of the story as when they arrived in the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations the horrible conditions intensified. A typical day on the sugar plantation in the
Caribbean went something like this…
When slaves arrived on the islands, they were prepared to be sold to slave owners.
Their skins were washed and oiled and put up to be auctioned to the highest bid coming from the various slave owners. Family was not promoted during the era of slavery and therefore families were separated and sold to different slave owners.
Slaves were immediately put to work once sold and the days generally started at 6am at the crack of dawn.
Slave owners provided Africans with weekly rations of food which included salt
herrings, mackrel, potato and maize. Africans were expected to make meals for
themselves and were often forced to supplement their diets with other foods from the wild, or provisions from their village gardens.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The portions were extremely small and inadequate and resulted in starvation of the
enslaved on many Caribbean territories. Enslaved workers worked in the fields for long hours, the sun was hot and they
would be whipped if overseers believed they were now working at their optimum.
Tasks performed ranged from clearing land, planting cane, harvesting cane,
manuring and weeding cane.
Slaves also worked inside factories and boiling houses, which were also far from
ideal. As the rooms were poorly ventilated which allowed slaves to suffer in hot
inhumane conditions. Women, men and children were expected to work; as young
as 12.
Slaves worked until 6pm and during periods of harvest time they worked until even 12 midnight to facilitate the fast paced production. The death rate on plantations was huge from the overwork, poor working conditions, poor nutrition, brutality and disease. Slave owners would rather import slaves than improve working conditions, because in their eyes, the enslaved were nothing but mere property.
Sources:
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/archaeologyofslavery/slavery-caribbean
Montego Bay Cultural Centre 
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