According to Barbara Bush’s The 'Invisible ' Black Woman in Caribbean History “The female slave labored as hard and as long, and was subjected to the same harsh punishments as male slaves...she was forced to resist the system in order to preserve her integrity as a women and protect her family and friends.” 1 No matter if she was on the harsh vogue across the Atlantic, living in Rio de Janeiro or the United States all slave women had one thing in common, and that is that their masters often saw them as obedient and trustworthy and this was not always a good thing. In this essay, I will look into two key areas involving women in slavery. First the treatment of slave women’s sexuality by their owners. Second motherhood for slave women, to start
…show more content…
First, when a slave gave birth it was often found by the master to be both beneficial and of nuisance. A slave giving birth was beneficial because it gave the owner a commodity they could keep or sell when they became old enough. However, to nuisance of the owner was the fact that had to take care of an infant and for the most part it was slave owner and there family that was taking care of the slave children until they were old enough to perform reliable work. The reason for this was so the slave women could continue to perform the work they were raised for. For the women of higher class, in particular in Brazil slave women were bought and traded for to become wet nurses “It was a common practice Brazilian cites to purchase or rent slave women to serve as wet nurses for infants of the more prosperous classes”. 11 The amount of attention that was spent in determining who to buy or rent was high. In matter of fact, many upper class women turned to doctors to determine who should feed their infant children. One doctor of French descent. Mentions several key importance is when selecting a wet nurse. Some of the key points he makes is that she must be “young, strong and robust”; the skin of the wet …show more content…
The statement by Jacobs that “Slavery is terrible for men; but is far more terrible for women” 15 Rings true throughout the history of
First, when a slave gave birth it was often found by the master to be both beneficial and of nuisance. A slave giving birth was beneficial because it gave the owner a commodity they could keep or sell when they became old enough. However, to nuisance of the owner was the fact that had to take care of an infant and for the most part it was slave owner and there family that was taking care of the slave children until they were old enough to perform reliable work. The reason for this was so the slave women could continue to perform the work they were raised for. For the women of higher class, in particular in Brazil slave women were bought and traded for to become wet nurses “It was a common practice Brazilian cites to purchase or rent slave women to serve as wet nurses for infants of the more prosperous classes”. 11 The amount of attention that was spent in determining who to buy or rent was high. In matter of fact, many upper class women turned to doctors to determine who should feed their infant children. One doctor of French descent. Mentions several key importance is when selecting a wet nurse. Some of the key points he makes is that she must be “young, strong and robust”; the skin of the wet …show more content…
The statement by Jacobs that “Slavery is terrible for men; but is far more terrible for women” 15 Rings true throughout the history of