Working Conditions

• • Many enslaved people worked in plantations where they grew cash crops:
  • Tobacco,
  • Sugar,
  • Cocoa, and
  • Cotton
• • The working hours for enslaved people would be 12 hours a day, but this could be up to 18 hours during harvest time
  • They were also given no breaks
• • While working, a white overseer would ensure enslaved people were working hard enough
  • If they were slacking, they would be whipped
• Sugar Plantations

  • Sugar is made by crushing the cane, and then boiling the juice
  • To get the juice, they had to be squeezed through giant rollers
  • Many enslaved people had their arms crushed, or removed, as these rooms were often very dark, and they couldn't see what they were doing
• Sugar Plantations - Boiling House

  • Once the juice was collected, it was moved to a boiling house, to turn the juice into molasses
  • Conditions
  • The smell was sickly, like manure
  • The heat was also unbearable
  • Despite these horrible conditions, they were still whipped if they were not working hard enough
• Enslavers believed it was their right to attack and punish enslaved people as they saw fit - however, they could not punished them so harshly they could not work

  • On average, an enslaved person in the West Indies only survived 7 years
• • Enslavers believed it was their right to attack and punish enslaved people as they saw fit - however, they could not punish them so harshly they could not work
  • On average, an enslaved person in the West Indies only survived 7 years