The Plantation System
Driving Question: How was slavery in the Atlantic plantation system different from earlier forms of slavery?
The millions of Africans who were enslaved and forced to work in the Americas provided the labor that fueled the plantation system. This system enriched slavers as well as European empires. Enslaved people were treated as property, and the transatlantic slave trade was accompanied by the development of racial theories and ideologies that sought to justify the enslavement of Africans based on perceived racial hierarchies.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand and critique the motives and justifications for the transatlantic slave trade.
- Evaluate how conceptions of race affected communities and labor systems.
Vocab Terms:
- abolish
- colony
- enslave
- exploit
- hierarchy
- plantation system
As you prepare to learn about enslavement and the plantation system, this activity asks you to examine an image and compare it to what you already know.
Understanding the economic motivations behind the system of enslavement and plantations will help students understand why it started and why people perpetuated this horrific system. It will also help prepare them to understand how European empires became so wealthy and how raw materials from plantations helped power the Industrial Revolution.
Slavery has existed for thousands of years. In these two articles and activity, we grapple with the unique system of enslavement that emerged in the sixteenth-century Americas.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What was the legal status of enslaved people of African descent in the Americas?
- How did this legal status impact enslaved people’s experiences?
- What information does the advertisement announcing the escape of an enslaved person in Jamaica give us about the person named York?
- How did laws and beliefs around race impact enslaved people and free people of color?
- What information do the articles from the French Code Noir give us about the way race worked in the French colonies in the Americas?
After you read
Respond to this prompt: Using the evidence in this article, write a definition of slavery that fits the time and place described in the article.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What contradiction does the system of slavery in the Americas highlight?
- What was the principal motive for using enslaved labor?
- How were the people in William Clark’s 1823 painting Cutting the Sugar Cane, Antigua, economically related to Harewood House in Leeds?
- In what ways did people use religion to justify slavery?
- In what ways did people misuse science to argue in favor of slavery? Were these arguments sustained by evidence?
After you read
Respond to this question: What is the difference between a “motive” and a “justification,” as the author uses them in this article?
This graphic bio begins with a quote from historian Vincent Brown’s 2020 book, Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War. He argues that revolts like those covered in this graphic biography should not be studied in isolation but understood as a complex, ongoing war against the institutions and injustices of slavery and the slave trade. You can find an overview of his argument in this time.com article.
About 12 million Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. Once in the Americas, many enslaved Africans participated in rebellions and revolutions to reclaim their freedom.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How many Africans were enslaved from the Gold Coast and how many were taken to Jamaica?
- How did the Windward Maroons defeat the British?
- Why was Queen Nanny both respected and feared?
- What concessions did the Windward Maroons have to make to the British in order to secure peace with them?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate Queen Nanny’s journey and position in the Windward Maroon society?
After you read
Respond to this question: How does this biography of Queen Nanny support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about the transatlantic slave trade?
Now that you’ve finished the lesson, use this quick closer to think about what you’ve learned.
