As a general rule, enslaved people worked from sunrise to sunset , usually in the tobacco fields. On large plantations, some learned trades and worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, and coopers or served as cooks and house servants.
How was the life of slaves?
Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown six days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat. Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst.
How did slaves make a living?
Generally speaking, slaves enjoyed few material benefits beyond crude lodgings, basic foods and cotton clothing . Still, some plantation slaves were able to earn small amounts of cash by telling fortunes or playing the fiddle at dances. Others sold poultry, meats and liquor or peddled handicrafts.
What did the slaves do for fun?
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays, slaves engaged in singing and dancing . Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of “patting juba” or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion. A couple dancing.
What was family life like for slaves?
A father might have one owner , his “wife” and children another. Some enslaved people lived in nuclear families with a mother, father, and children. In these cases each family member belonged to the same owner. Others lived in near-nuclear families in which the father had a different owner than the mother and children.
How did slaves get punished?
Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning, mutilation, branding, rape, and imprisonment . Punishment was often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but sometimes abuse was performed to re-assert the dominance of the master (or overseer) over the slave.
What did slaves do when they were freed?
Many ended up in encampments called “contraband camps” that were often near union army bases. ... Shockingly, some contraband camps were actually former slave pens, meaning newly freed people ended up being kept virtual prisoners back in the same cells that had previously held them.
At what age did slaves start working?
Boys and girls under ten assisted in the care of the very young enslaved children or worked in and around the main house. From the age of ten, they were assigned to tasks—in the fields, in the Nailery and Textile Workshop, or in the house.
How long did slaves usually live?
As a result of this high infant and childhood death rate, the average life expectancy of a slave at birth was just 21 or 22 years , compared to 40 to 43 years for antebellum whites. Compared to whites, relatively few slaves lived into old age.
What did the slaves eat?
Weekly food rations — usually corn meal, lard, some meat, molasses, peas, greens, and flour — were distributed every Saturday. Vegetable patches or gardens, if permitted by the owner, supplied fresh produce to add to the rations. Morning meals were prepared and consumed at daybreak in the slaves’ cabins.
How were slaves captured in Africa?
The capture and sale of enslaved Africans
Most of the Africans who were enslaved were captured in battles or were kidnapped , though some were sold into slavery for debt or as punishment. The captives were marched to the coast, often enduring long journeys of weeks or even months, shackled to one another.
What was the weeping time?
In 1859, one of the largest slave sales in U.S. history took place a short distance outside downtown Savannah. Remembered as “The Weeping Time,” this historical event was named not only for the families that were torn apart during this time, but also for the heavy rain that occurred throughout the two-day auction.
What did slaves wear?
The majority of enslaved people probably wore plain unblackened sturdy leather shoes without buckles . Enslaved women also wore jackets or waistcoats that consisted of a short fitted bodice that closed in the front.
Where did slaves sleep?
Slaves on small farms often slept in the kitchen or an outbuilding , and sometimes in small cabins near the farmer’s house. On larger plantations where there were many slaves, they usually lived in small cabins in a slave quarter, far from the master’s house but under the watchful eye of an overseer.
How did former slaves react to freedom?
Some self-emancipated by escaping to the Union lines or by joining the army ; others learned of their new condition when former owners, often prodded by Union officers, announced that they were free; and others found the promise of freedom clouded by racial hatred, disease and death.
What did slaves wear after becoming free?
Explanation: The Phrygian cap is a soft, red, conical cap with the top pulled forward, worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In France, the red Phrygian cap was worn by a slave upon becoming free.
Did slaves have a day off?
Slaves were generally allowed a day off on Sunday , and on infrequent holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July. During their few hours of free time, most slaves performed their own personal work.
How many hours do slaves work?
On a typical plantation, slaves worked ten or more hours a day , “from day clean to first dark,” six days a week, with only the Sabbath off. At planting or harvesting time, planters required slaves to stay in the fields 15 or 16 hours a day.
What jobs did child slaves do?
Slave children, under their parents and masters, lived in fear of punishment and isolation. Though circumstances widely varied, they often worked in fields with adults , tended animals, cleaned and served in their owners’ houses, and took care of younger children while their parents were working.
What problems did slaves face?
While working on plantations in the Southern United States, many slaves faced serious health problems . Improper nutrition, the unsanitary living conditions, and excessive labor made them more susceptible to diseases than their owners; the death rates among the slaves were significantly higher due to diseases.
What did slaves do in the winter?
In his 1845 Narrative, Douglass wrote that slaves celebrated the winter holidays by engaging in activities such as “ playing ball, wrestling, running foot-races, fiddling, dancing, and drinking whiskey ” (p.
How did slaves get education?
On plantations the pursuit of education became a communal effort — slaves learned from parents, spouses, family members , and fellow slaves and some were even personally instructed by their masters or hired tutors.
Why did the slaves sing?
Music was a way for slaves to express their feelings whether it was sorrow, joy, inspiration or hope. Songs were passed down from generation to generation throughout slavery. These songs were influenced by African and religious traditions and would later form the basis for what is known as “Negro Spirituals”.
How many meals did slaves get a day?
In ordinary times we had two regular meals in a day: breakfast at twelve o’clock, after laboring from daylight, and supper when the work of the remainder of the day was over. In harvest season we had three.
Who started slavery in Africa?
The transatlantic slave trade began during the 15th century when Portugal , and subsequently other European kingdoms, were finally able to expand overseas and reach Africa. The Portuguese first began to kidnap people from the west coast of Africa and to take those they enslaved back to Europe.
Who sold slaves to the Royal African Company?
It was led by the Duke of York , who was the brother of Charles II and later took the throne as James II. It shipped more African slaves to the Americas than any other company in the history of the Atlantic slave trade. It was established after Charles II gained the English throne in the Restoration of 1660.
What did female slaves wear?
Basic garment of female slaves consisted of a one-piece frock or slip of coarse “Negro Cloth .” Cotton dresses, sunbonnets, and undergarments were made from handwoven cloth for summer and winter. Annual clothing distributions included brogan shoes, palmetto hats, turbans, and handkerchiefs.
What did slaves homes look like?
Most slave quarters were constructed of wood , and many were log and earthfast structures with no foundations. Those located closest to elite plantation houses were generally better built, with wooden frames and masonry chimneys and foundations.
