Ex-Slavery In The West Indies

In 1838 in the British West Indies, there was a dire need for labour after the Apprenticeship system ended. In the large colonies such as Trinidad and Jamaica, there was a vast amount of land available. The ex-slaves tried obtaining these lands with tactics such as squatting, buying land and renting in order to become independent peasants. In the smaller colonies however, the ex-slaves migrated to the larger colonies for work and available land. Some ex-slaves made the choice of working on the estates part-time and also working on their lands. Planters were now demanding the British government's help in aiding the weakened labour system in the colonies. "With the assistance of the local legislature and the British Government, several sources …show more content…
On the Indian ships, space was limited and congestion was common, but greater discomfort was experienced from the monotonous conditions of life on board. Emigrants were not confined to any part of the ship but the male and female quarters were kept separate in order to maintain discipline. They were under the supervisors who were responsible for their good conduct and well-being. Meals were served twice a day, emigrants were allowed a bath each day and music and singing was allowed. On the African slave ships however, hundreds of slaves were tightly packed below the deck. The hygiene conditions were poor as there was no construct that they could use as a washroom, and if there was, they were so tightly packed together that it made it difficult for them to move. Diseases were very common in the ships as they were transmitted easily as a result of the poor hygiene and the way slaves were packed together. This therefore, led to a number of deaths among the slaves. High mortality was also a result of suicide by jumping overboard or starving themselves to death. Malnutrition also contributed to the mortality rate as the transporters were not keen to spending a lot of money on proper food for the …show more content…
"On the estates, Indians were assigned barrack-type quarters; many times the same barracks used to house the formerly enslaved Africans. Each room of the barrack building measured 10 feet square and 8 to 10 feet high and the partitions between rooms did not reach the roof, so that there was a total lack of privacy. Ventilation was often inadequate. Each such room accommodated either a married couple and their children or two to four single adults." (Singh, 2013) The Indians were also allowed to practice their various religions openly on the estates unlike the Africans whose religions were deemed pagan. As stated by Dookhan, the slaves lived in huts or barracks built of timber, wattle and thatch, The walls were daubed in mud and the floor was invariably the bare earth. In odd cases, the lodging of the more well-to-do slaves had shingled roofs. Slave-quarters had little furniture, and beds were either aid on the ground or raised on wooden bunks. Overcrowding was common and this encouraged the spread of contagious diseases such as yaws, malaria, ringworm and