The End to Slavery in the Caribbean

The End to Slavery in the Caribbean

The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was the first successful slave revolt

in the Caribbean, and it was one of the most important events in the history of

the Americas. Along with the obvious human rights benefits that the Haitian

Revolution achieved, there were some serious setbacks for the nation as well.

Between 1783 and 1789, Saint Domingue was the foremost sugar producer in

the region, but by the end of the war the economy was completely destroyed,

and to this day Haiti has not come anywhere close to reattaining its once

prominent economic status in the Caribbean. The results of the revolution

sent fear through the European consciousness as well as strengthened the

growing idea that slavery may be an immoral practice. In the United

Kingdom, slavery lost popularity quickly and an antislavery movement was

initiated. After May 1807, no British ship was permitted to leave with a cargo

of slaves, and by March 1808, it was made illegal for a slave to be landed in

any British colony. The law became even stricter in 1811 when the trafficking

of slaves was made into a felony. Despite the attempts to end the slave

trade, plantation slavery continued in the British Caribbean. Slavery was not

officially abolished in the Caribbean until 1834. The termination bill which

abolished it called for twelve years of apprenticeship for the “ex-slaves”,

which was not very different from slavery. This system was abolished in 1838.

During and after all of this vacillating lawmaking, a serious labor

problem developed in the Caribbean. The key to the production of the

Caribbean’s produce, mainly sugar, was the system of slavery. Slavery

practically eliminated labor costs, and all...

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...s felt as though they

were being undercut by this new type of cheap labor. The blacks resented

that their slavery had come to an end, but in order to compete with the new

labor force, slave-like conditions were once again the only option. The

"coolies” in Jamaica, as well as the Asians on the other islands began their

journeys as outsiders living in terrible conditions.

Today, a sort of blend has taken place in these cultures. A good

example of the blending that has taken place can be seen in the music of the

region. In rural Trinidad there is a popular form of music that mixes classical

Indian singing with a soca beat. Soca is a music that combines the insistent

tempos of calypso with the energy of hip hop and the quatrain-like structures

of traditional north Indian folk songs.

Tinker, Hugh. A New System of Slavery. Oxford University Press, 1974.