Methods of slave control

• Economic Control: The enslaved populations in Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean were not paid for their labour.
• For the slaves to survive, they needed their planters to provide them with food, shelter, clothing and medical care.
• Many slaves did not rebel, believing they could not survive away from the plantation and their planters, even though they were harshly treated.
• Slave societies were rigidly stratified/divided and the slaves were at the bottom of the social pyramid.
• In Barbados, slaves were considered chattel, a special kind of property that could be bought and sold.
• Slaves had no human rights and were constantly told that they were inferior to the whites.
• Among the slaves, praedials were considered the lowest group.
• Mulatto slaves were considered to be a higher rank than black slaves, and many planters preferred creole rather than African born slaves.
• These were forms of social control because when the slaves focused on their differences, they were less likely to work together to fight their planters.
• Physical Control: This involved the punishments given to the slaves, which included severe beatings.
• Cultural Control: This involved denying the slaves, especially those imported from Africa, the opportunity to continue practising their African culture including, religious beliefs and practices, speaking their African languages, beating drums, and giving their children African names.
• Cultural control began during the seasoning period.