Print
this page
Email
this page Newsletters - Slavery and the Family
Caribbean
Although Britain abolished its slave trade to the Americas in 1808, the black people in the Caribbean were not freed from slavery until the period 1834 to 1838, when Britain abolished slavery in its colonies.
During and immediately after slavery, family life among the slaves was almost non-existent, as Africans transported to the West Indies were rarely brought on the same ship as their kin and even when they were, upon arrival into the New World, family members were sold off to separate bidders. In many cases, families were broken up even before setting foot on the slave ships, as some members were kidnapped and brought to the New World, while others were able to escape or were just not considered slave material. Further, the slave's effort to establish a stable family on the plantation, even after losing his original one, was often hindered by further sales and transfers. Added to that, the intervention of the white male into the sexual life of the slave woman further undermined the black family.
Family life for the slave then took a variety of forms: the most popular one seemed to be the mother/child household. On large estates, slaves made attempts to form nuclear families headed by a male and a female, though, as already mentioned, such families were very vulnerable and could be broken up at any time through sale or transfers. Some slave women, mainly the light-skinned ones, lived in open relationships with the white males, most of whom had their legal white families as well. Children of such unions were often confused as to their status in the society as they seemed to belong to neither side.
It would be fair to say therefore, that during slavery, the black man was robbed of his responsibility of being a husband and a father, a responsibility which would have been taken seriously at home in Africa, and the black woman was left with the responsibility of ensuring her own survival along with that of her numerous children whom she may have conceived through a variety of partners both black and white. In my view, what came out of such a system was a man who did not know what it was to take responsibility for a family and a woman who was forced to be strong and independent in order to survive and who learned to survive on her own, often just by using her wits.
It is short-sighted to see slavery as undermining only the black family. The association which the white male established with the black slave woman would have adversely affected the white family also. It has been pointed out that in the slave society and even after abolition, the white woman was almost invisible. Outnumbered by the white male on whom she was entirely dependent, her only role in society was to produce pure-blooded white sons who would perpetuate the system. The fear of contamination of the white race caused any association of the white female with a black male to be viewed as most reprehensible. Thus, outnumbered by white men, intimidated by their slaves and their responsibility in a society that did not recognise them as full participants, reduced to sexual and economic impotence, white women were anomalies in a society that was divided on strict racial and gender lines[1].
Family life in the Caribbean immediately after slavery – and even today – still is influenced to some extent by what was practised during slavery. Apart from marriages which are recognised by law, there are common law unions where the couple live together as man and wife without the formality of a wedding. Children from such a union are regarded as legitimate; only children born out of casual relationships or whose fathers do not recognise them are considered illegitimate. On the whole, no matter what their status, children, during slavery and now, are well loved and cared for. Women who have no children often unofficially adopt children of family members or children whose parents cannot care for them. In the early days of slavery, children grew up quickly and by four years old they were expected to carry out certain duties in the household. In the early days after slavery, children attended school, though they did this irregularly[2]. In the Caribbean today, laws are now in place prohibiting child labour and making it an offence to keep a child away from school.
Today New World slavery is something of the past. But there are other forms of slavery that may be linked to it. Although Caribbean people are no longer physically enslaved, for 300 years they had been taught that they were inferior beings. A slave owned nothing, not even his own person. How ready was the ex-slave emotionally and economically to enter the free world of his former slave master and carve out a life for himself and his family?
As a carry-over from slavery, we still have black men who run away from their responsibilities of fatherhood and marriage. We still have too many young women who produce children for men who are not committed.
Thus in the Caribbean, the number of children born out of wedlock and to teenage girls is staggering. In Jamaica, the figures for 2004 show that 83.9% of all live births were children born out of wedlock and 19.4% of children born in 2004 were to mothers under 20 years of age. These figures, given at a recent training seminar for Mothers' Union members in Eastern Jamaica, would not vary much in the other dioceses where the population is made up mainly of descendants of those Africans who were forced into slavery.
Women, many single-handed, still work hard to give their children a good life and many great men and women of the Caribbean have come out of families where it was their mothers who fathered them.
In my view, today in the Caribbean, many young men and women have given up the thought of making money the old fashioned way – by hard work. There is now the "get rich quick syndrome" which causes them to become involved in the illicit drug trade, another form of slavery from which there seems to be no emancipation, except through death. Then there are the young women who allow their almost naked bodies to be used in advertisements. The careless use of the body then leads to the spread of the deadly disease HIV/AIDS. It is sad that the Caribbean is second only to Africa in the number of persons affected by this disease.
It is in such a vineyard that God has called the Mothers' Union (MU) in the Province of the West Indies to carry out its mission. What are we doing to help our societies face these challenges?
The Mothers' Union in Jamaica works with the Female Prisoners Welfare Project through what is called the Hibiscus Jamaica Programme. Through this joint operation between the Jamaican Government and the British Law Enforcement, fewer Jamaican women are ingesting cocaine to take to the UK.
In the West Indies, the Worldwide Mothers' Union Parenting Programme is having a positive impact on families in three of the dioceses. The programme is playing an important role in supporting and encouraging those who are parenting alone – both male and female. It is also helping parents to see the importance of marriage in providing a stable family life for children. In Guyana, the Parenting Trainer says that the satisfaction of hearing about the changed behaviour of parents/carers and the renewed and improved relationships in the family stimulates her passion for the programme. She is about to take it into the Amerindian communities in the remote areas of the country where the indigenous people live.
MU in many parts of the province offers Family Life Counselling, Day Care Services, School Feeding, Meals on Wheels and school bursaries. There is also a Library and Skills Training Centre managed by the MU in Guyana where people are trained in life-skills which help them to become self-employed and independent. Such a programme frees women and young girls from exploitation and abuse by men on whom they would have to depend if they cannot earn for themselves – another form of slavery.
The time has come for us to stop blaming slavery for the situation in which numerous descendants of Africans in the Caribbean find themselves. It is amazing that after 300 years of being robbed of family, religion, culture and of homeland, and of being treated as sub-humans, the descendants of Africans in the Caribbean have been able, like the proverbial phoenix, to rise from the ashes of the past and carve out a space for themselves in a land which they now call their homeland and which they govern as independently as the superpowers allow them.
In my view, today in the Caribbean, many young men and women have given up the thought of making money the old fashioned way – by hard work. There is now the "get rich quick syndrome" which causes them to become involved in the illicit drug trade, another form of slavery from which there seems to be no emancipation, except through death. Then there are the young women who allow their almost naked bodies to be used in advertisements. The careless use of the body then leads to the spread of the deadly disease HIV/AIDS. It is sad that the Caribbean is second only to Africa in the number of persons affected by this disease.
It is in such a vineyard that God has called the Mothers' Union (MU) in the Province of the West Indies to carry out its mission. What are we doing to help our societies face these challenges?
The Mothers' Union in Jamaica works with the Female Prisoners Welfare Project through what is called the Hibiscus Jamaica Programme. Through this joint operation between the Jamaican Government and the British Law Enforcement, fewer Jamaican women are ingesting cocaine to take to the UK.
In the West Indies, the Worldwide Mothers' Union Parenting Programme is having a positive impact on families in three of the dioceses. The programme is playing an important role in supporting and encouraging those who are parenting alone – both male and female. It is also helping parents to see the importance of marriage in providing a stable family life for children. In Guyana, the Parenting Trainer says that the satisfaction of hearing about the changed behaviour of parents/carers and the renewed and improved relationships in the family stimulates her passion for the programme. She is about to take it into the Amerindian communities in the remote areas of the country where the indigenous people live.
MU in many parts of the province offers Family Life Counselling, Day Care Services, School Feeding, Meals on Wheels and school bursaries. There is also a Library and Skills Training Centre managed by the MU in Guyana where people are trained in life-skills which help them to become self-employed and independent. Such a programme frees women and young girls from exploitation and abuse by men on whom they would have to depend if they cannot earn for themselves – another form of slavery.
The time has come for us to stop blaming slavery for the situation in which numerous descendants of Africans in the Caribbean find themselves. It is amazing that after 300 years of being robbed of family, religion, culture and of homeland, and of being treated as sub-humans, the descendants of Africans in the Caribbean have been able, like the proverbial phoenix, to rise from the ashes of the past and carve out a space for themselves in a land which they now call their homeland and which they govern as independently as the superpowers allow them.
1. Verene Shepherd, Working Slavery, Pricing Freedom,
2 Bridget Brerton Social Life in the Caribbean 1838 – 1938.
Top
