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Figure 1. Iron pot- used to make coconut oil.

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Beckles, Hilary and Shepard, Verene. Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World. Jamaica, 2000.

Encyclopedia (ed). “Slavery in Africa.” Online Encyclopedia, 2000, http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/AfricanHistory/SlaveryInAfrica.html Accessed 25/02/2018

Encyclopedia Britannica (ED). “British Virgin Islands.” Encyclopedia Britannica Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 2018 URL:https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Virgin-Islands  Access Date: February 02, 2018

Emmer, Pieter. “Between Slavery and freedom: The period of apprenticeship in Suriname (Dutch Guiana), 1863–1873.” A journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies, vol.14, no.1, pp. 87-113. DOI: 10.1080/01440399308575085. Accessed on 16/02/2018

Jaide, Don “White Slavery: The Scottish Slaves of England and Americas.” Rasta Livewire 33, 2009 https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/white-slavery-re-slaves-of-scotland/comment-page-1/ Accessed February 16, 2018.

Mohammed, Jeniffer. Caribbean Studies for CAPE Examinations: An Interdisciplinary Approach. MacMillian Caribbean, 2007.

Olusoga, David. “The Roots of European Racism lie in the Slave Trade, Colonialism and Edward Long.” The Guardian, September 2015 p. B6.

Oostinidie, Gert and Klinkers, Inge. Decolonising the Caribbean. Amsterdam University Press, 2003.

“The Apprenticeship Period chapter 46.” The Guyana Story, 1995 http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter46.html/   Accessed February 20, 2018.

“The End of Slavery.” Portcities Bristol. Liverpool Libraries and Information Services,1999, http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/freedom-from-slavery/apprenticeship/slavery-end/ Accessed February 14, 2018

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Figure 2. Copper- basin used for boiling cane nectar.

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Figure 3. Hand Rotavator- used to refine the soil.

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Figure 4. Grinding Stone- used to sharpen tools used in the plantation.

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Figure 5.Jaataa- used for grinding grains.

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Figure 6. Rice Mill (Huller)- used for de-husking paddy.

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Figure 7.Jeweler Wheel -used for turning out bracelets and other ornaments.

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The Caribbean also called the West Indies, can be defined in many ways. Geographically and geologically, it is the islands and mainland territories that sit on the Caribbean plate and are washed by the Caribbean Sea. (Mohammed p.3) These islands also share a historical, political and cultural identity. However, some countries situated on the Central and South America mainland are considered as part of the Caribbean such as Suriname and Guyana and some that although they are situated in the Caribbean, do not identify as being Caribbean such as Puerto Rico and Tortola.

Guyana and Suriname both share a common cultural, political and historical identity with the islands of the Caribbean. They like the rest of the Caribbean were first inhabited by the Amerindians and became a European imperialist. They were both used as trading post for the Europeans and were then used as sugar cane plantation colonies. This bullionism ideal brought death, destruction and the rape to the Caribbean islands. These required large labour forces which led to the immigration of East Indian, African and whites in the Caribbean. (Mohammed p.11) Additionally, creating a melting pot of unique, diverse cultures only known in the West Indies. Such as carnival, types of cuisine and music due to British ancestry. Guyana and Suriname also consider themselves as Caribbean people and are a part in CARICOM. This identity is an important part in the Caribbean diaspora.

Puerto Rico although sharing historical and geographical similarities with the Caribbean but tends to group itself and other Spanish speaking Caribbean islands as part of the Spanish America, since they share common history and linguistics. (Oostindie et al) Tortola, part of the British Virgin Islands, shares similar history and geography with the Caribbean.(Encyclopedia) From the settlement of Indigenous people, the Spanish and English colonial conquest and ethnicity variations to its geography and culture it would be considered Caribbean. However, it became a British territory and therefore sees itself as an extension of the motherland.

In conclusion, the Caribbean is much more than the fruits of geography and history but common cultures, identity and ethnic makeup. Many countries are Caribbean in origin while others are Caribbean in identity. These similarities and differences are the basis for defining the Caribbean.

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Sugar cane cultivation in the Caribbean demanded a large amount of labor. The first set of laborers were the white bonded servants from the British Isles: poor people who wished to try their luck overseas, people running from wars, kidnapped men, women and children, criminals and prisoners of war came to the Caribbean.(Mohammed pp 119)

They were victims of terrible treatment from their passage to the new world to treatments on the plantation. The conditions aboard were inhumane for both captains and indentured servants. Up to 100 people were packed into small compartments and they were prevented from coming up on deck for air or easement. Dirt, excrement and urine transformed the ship into a pest house and they were half-starved and dehydrated. Smallpox, fever and the plague killed many. Others were devoured by lice until they almost died. Ligon, who lived in Barbados from 1647 to 1650, said that the African slaves were better treated than the white servants, because the owner knew he had a bond servant only for five or seven years, and so drove him hard during that time. Those owners who were merciful treated the bond servants well, but "if the masters be cruel, the servants have very wearisome and miserable lives...”(Jaide pp 12 ; emphasis added)

Is this equivalent to chattel slavery? Absolutely not. These West Africans were pure chattels, unconditionally the property of their masters with no rights, and their future generations were also bonded. Even though the white bonded servants were mistreated their servitude was temporary and voluntary with legal person-hood. The decline of white bonded servitude resulted in chattel slavery.

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Slavery existed in west Africa in medieval times. The institution of slavery differed from chattel slavery.  Firstly, west African slaves were treated humanely due to no dominant races and most slaves sold themselves to pay off debts, crimes or were prisoners of war. Those born into slavery was not considered a slave and most times the master adopted the slave’s family resulting in their freedom. Chiefs used slavery for economic and political advancement and slaves were not traded for over work but as skilled producers. (Openstax, 82)

However, this changed when the Trans- Atlantic slave trade emerged, slaves’ profitability increase due to Europeans trading cloth, liquor, metal and even guns, since Europeans saw it as cheap labour. (Oostindie et al ) The Europeans also instigated tribal warfare to obtain more slaves as they were hard workers and were immune to most New World diseases. Slaves were seen as owners’ properties and had no rights or freedom. They were enslaved generations after generations until being emancipated. This led to an imbalance of males in the West African population and eventually led to the destruction of their slavery system.

You must understand that chief’s traded slaves thinking that this slavery system was similar to theirs and not inhumane and degrading. This idea of dominant races in chattel slavery resulted in racial segregation, whites’ vs blacks.

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Skin colour was beneficial in the slave societies in many ways. The whites were the highest in the social hierarchy while the blacks were the lowest. Rational, white masculinity came to symbolize culture and civilization while moral virtue, sensuality and physical fairness defined white womanhood. This image contrasted to the supposedly grotesque sexuality, physical ugliness and excessive fertility—a metaphorical trope for Africa itself—of “hot constitution’d” African women. (Emmer p. 89)

European women were part of the slavery structures both at home and out in the colonies. They have profitable investments in the setup of slavery, financing, shipbuilding and associated slave trade businesses. Neither Caribbean nor European, creole white women made up the middle strata of ‘other whiteness’ which threatened to undermine the ideals of white womanhood. Although white women couldn’t access property they had the right to own and control the productive and reproductive labor of the enslaved women. (Olusoga ) White males freely exploited the sexuality and reproductive labor of the African women but prohibited relationships between their white women and black males. This resulted in the mixture of white and African children called mulattoes, which the law dictate followed the legal status of their mothers’. This further emphasized the notion of black women’s bodies were the embodiment of unfreedom while the white women’s bodies were the embodiment of freedom. (Emmer p.95) White males secured both patriarchal ideals and white supremacy through the regulation of white female sexuality. Even though slave societies benefited white women they were denied some freedoms unlike their male counterparts. Instead of forming a sense of sisterhood with black women, they chose to retain their privilege by siding with the white men.

Whiteness, to this day still continues as it is still regarded as the benchmark for standards of physical beauty and cultural worth. It also seen as higher social ranking since white and lighter skinned people are seen within elites. A celebration of whiteness and white cultural values continue to penetrate society; this is referred to by scholars as the afterlife of slavery. (Encyclopedia)

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The Caribbean Indian Museum helps to revise the beliefs of East Indians since they portray the many contributions the Indians made in the Caribbean. The artifacts I collected, shows how east Indians advanced the agricultural sector of the Caribbean civilization. As skilled rice farmers from their mother nation, they introduced rice cultivation and the tools necessary for higher crop yield for sugar and rice crops. Such as the hand rotavator, the rice mill and jaataa. The use of iron pots to make coconut oil, native to the Caribbean, held many benefits to one’s skin, food and used for pujas.  They also brought in their jajee bundles ochro, pumpkin and mango seeds which help diversify the agriculture scene.

Since the customs of East Indians were different they were viewed as primitive by the whites as most East Indian women wore jewellery and had chiming payals on their feet. Their culture and way of life was also viewed as backward in comparison to Europeans. However, during my visit to the museum I learnt that they were not backward as European portrayed them to be but skilled people in many aspects, such as religion, literature, music etc.

All in all, East Indians played a large role in defining the Caribbean since many musical instruments like the sitar are used in and around the Caribbean. The mixture of Hindi and creole languages is also another way we can define the Caribbean. Many Caribbean nations share in similar cultures and religious practices past down by their ancestors.

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The quote, “neither freedom nor enslavement” I believe is very appropriate for assessing the apprenticeship period. Apprenticeship period started as a means to keep slaves on the plantation longer before the Emancipation Act in 1833 was actively enforced. The white planters thought that the blacks needed help and training to be free men and women since they didn’t have the funds needed to navigate freely or purchase land as well as the skills to survive or find work. (Oostinidie et al)

They became apprentices for their old masters and worked for forty and a half hours per week for low wages. This period was not much different from slavery since they were flogged and imprisoned for disobedience, one form of punishment was the treadmill where they were whipped to increase their pace. (Beckles et al, p.72) Planters also devised methods of control by reducing rations and refusing to give apprentices their rations of rum, sugar and salt-fish if they refused to work overtime.(Guyana.org, ch.46) Apprentices were also forced to do extra work since the planters complained of unsatisfactory work.

The British Government became concerned about the unfair treatment of the Africans and appointed ‘special magistrates’ to listen to the woos of the apprentices. However, they were bias and sided with the planters. They could gain their freedom by paying a manumission fee, which the planters to maintain the labor, increased the cost that the apprentices couldn’t afford. Plantation owners also falsely charged the blacks and locked them up, they were released just before the special magistrates arrived. However, they had to work extra hours to make up for the time they were locked up. Since planters had leverage, they influenced laws stipulating that it was illegal for apprentices to leave the plantation, even on their free time. (DiscoveringBristol.org) White owners made earning money difficult by destroying the ex-slaves provision grounds, preventing them from rearing life-stock and had high fixed fees for obtaining trading licenses.

In conclusion, they were still tethered to slavery even though they were legally free. Planters mentality of the ex- enslaved did not change from slavery and they were still treated harshly. Apprenticeship was neither freedom nor enslavement but a different form of slavery altogether.