4. During the slave trade, millions of Africans were kidnapped and
taken to the Americas where they were forced to work. However
there were also other workers and slaves in the Caribbean.
5. The issue of other workers
in the Caribbean is
controversial.
Some people were forced to
work as slaves.
Others worked in terrible
conditions similar to slavery,
but they were not slaves in
the same way as Africans.
6. Native Americans
One group of people that
certainly were slaves in the
Caribbean was Native
Americans who already
lived there.
This included tribes such as
the Arawak, Ciboney and
also Carib.
7. When the Spanish first
arrived in the Caribbean,
they saw the chance to use
the islands to grow
products, including sugar.
European settlers forced
these native tribes to work
for them, bringing slavery
to the area.
8. Like Africans later, the
native people were treated
terribly, forced to work
long hours in hot
conditions, and often facing
extreme punishments.
As a result of this
treatment, large numbers of
native peoples died.
9. Native peoples also
suffered due to illnesses
the Europeans brought
with them, like measles.
In addition the native
people suffered because
European settlers also took
their land to use for
plantations or towns.
10. Large numbers of Native
Americans died due to
work and disease, so
there were not enough
workers to meet
European demands.
As such they used other
groups as labourers in
the Caribbean too.
11. European prisoners
European countries also used
transportation as a
punishment for prisoners.
Guilty people were sent
abroad to carry out their
sentences, often to a far away
destination from which they
could not return.
12. Prisoners faced the same
treatment as slaves: they
were forced to work in
difficult conditions, facing
punishment if they did not
work well.
Their living conditions
were also poor, including
very basic diets.
13. However unlike slaves,
prisoners were being
punished for committing a
crime, and could be released
at the end of their sentence, if
they had worked well.
Some then stayed to work on
the plantations as paid
employees, where they might
have a better life.
14. Indentured servants
Indentured servants – also
called bond servants – have
similarities with slavery, but
are not the same.
Indentured servants had a
contract to work – usually
without pay – for a fixed
amount of time.
15. There were different reasons
people became indentured
servants, including:
• children being sold by their
orphanage
• sold to pay off a debt
• people that had committed
a crime
• voluntary to pay for travel
16. If their owner died, a
servant’s contract passed
to a new owner.
Like slaves, servants
were forced to work in
very difficult conditions,
had poor living
conditions and faced
harsh punishments.
17. However, unlike slaves,
indentured workers would
be free at the end of their
contract (usually 4-7 years).
At this point the servants
could live in the Americas,
and earn a wage. Sometimes
they even got land and
started their own farms.
18. Asian workers
At the end of the slave
trade there was not
enough workers in the
Caribbean.
Large numbers of Asian
workers arrived to fill
these shortages.
19. Many of the Asian workers
that came to the Caribbean
did so as indentured
workers.
They became indentured
workers for reasons such as
being sold as a prisoner of
war, to pay off debts or as a
choice to make money.
20. Most Asian indentured
workers sign for 2-5
years, often being paid
during this time.
At the end of their
contract they stayed in
the Caribbean, working
in various jobs such as
traders or bakers.
21. Some Asian workers felt they
were lied to about the
conditions, jobs and life they
would have in the Caribbean.
These workers often resisted
their employers by running
away, damaging property or
even attacking them. They
also wrote petitions
complaining.
22. The controversy on these
issues relates to the
definition of a slave.
Someone forced to work
for the rest of their lives
without pay is clearly a
slave. However can this be
said of someone that will
eventually be free?
23. Volunteer workers
Many British people went to
work on plantations, often as
overseers who controlled the
slaves.
These people were not forced
to do so; they hoped to make
money and become wealthier
by doing so.
24. Other workplaces
The majority of slaves in
worked on plantations
(whether in the fields or
in owner’s homes).
However some slaves
also worked in sugar
refineries or other
skilled jobs.
25. After the sugarcane was
harvested from the fields, it
had to be processed. This
involved work in a sugar mill
to extract its juices.
This work – which involved
crushing and boiling – took
place in a sugar mill. It could
be very dangerous.
26. Other skills gained
additional status and –
sometimes – better
treatment through being
skilled workers.
This included men who
worked as carpenters,
or who maintained the
equipment that was
used in sugar mills.
