During the slavery period, many blacks in the West Indies were able to acquire literacy of both a basic and advanced kind. The extent of the acquisition of this intellectual skill was directly related to changes within the plantation economy, characterised by the growth of occupation stratification and social élitism within the slave communities. As the plantation social formation became increasingly complex and creolised, many slaves were able to obtain high levels of occupational mobility. Some gained entry into artisan professions and others obtained ‘middle management’ roles, such as overseer functions.
At emancipation in 1838, a labour élite composed mostly of artisans, domestics, and overseers, was found in most West Indian sugar plantation economies. Some skilled occupations, in order to be performed efficiently, required at least basic literacy, and many slaves pursued and obtained this skill. As a result, the slave élite in the last years of slavery was characterised and distinguished by its possession of literacy.