The Empowerment of the Enslaved Population by the Eighteenth Century.

by Heather Cateau

Official freedom was granted in 1834, however over centuries of servitude the enslaved population in the British Caribbean managed to carve out degrees of freedom which paved the way to 1834. In fact, by the eighteenth century they had managed to empower themselves to the extent that they had attained rights akin to that of any workforce in many ways. This paper examines the sources of this empowerment and assesses its impact on the enslavement system.

The paper is based on the theory that the enslaved population possessed situational power by virtue of being permanent residents in an area where most of the population were temporary residents. This formed the basis of the population's ability to impact on key areas in spite of the fact that they were an enslaved labour force. This empowerment can be examined through several avenues. The paper concentrates on three areas. The first involves the planters' loss over control over key managerial areas. The second involves the influence gained by the enslaved over middle and upper level white managers. The third involves interesting insights gained from examination of the role of the elite among the enslaved population.

The paper argues that through these avenues the enslaved population was able to directly impact on almost all aspects of plantation life altering its very character through constant and strategic demands and more subtle manipulations. The paper posits that what we see evolving over time are not merely changes in the treatment of enslaved persons, but the evolution of a set of customary rights on the part of the enslaved population. These rights would be increased and extended with the passage of time.