post slavery society in Jamaica

     When the British parliamanet issued the emancipation to the slaves of British West Indies in 1834, the slavery of Jamaica was abolished. The former slaves, however, had to be controlled under the apprentixceship in which the freed people must worked continually for their former master for six years, The period of apprenticeship was described as "a legally mandated transition period between slavery and freedom" byThomas Cleveland Holt, a historian for stuying the history of Caribbean regions. Under the apprenticeship, the relationship between the planters and workers was much the same as thaat between master and slave for forty and one-half hours of the work weeks, but during the balance of the week they were to assume the respective status of employer adn employee freeely negotiating condiditons of work and wages. Therefore, apprenticeship was the residues of slavery and the slavery actually disappeared in 1838 when the apprenticeship ended.

     After getting rid of slavery, African Jamaicans could be free to find their employers and employ themselves. They didn't think that freedom just meant the end of slavery. In fact, they wanted to get rid of reliance on whites and to be independent economically. They left the whites' plantation, set up their own free villages.In addition they often form cooperatives to buy abandoned supar estates to cultivate the food crops. In Jamaica, black freeholders increased from 2,014 in 1838 to 7,800 in 1840 and more than 50,000 in 1859.

     The meaning of freedom to former slaves was not only the independent on aspect of economy, but also the acquirement of political rights. When the emancipation was passed, Lord Glenelg, the colonial secretary of Britain, advocated the idea of racial equally in politics and society. The Emancipaiton gave the right of vote to black Jamaicans on paper. A decate later, however, the British colonial office mounted the anxiety of the rise of black power in Caribbean regions. They worried that blacks would control the British West Indies becaue the majority of populatin was blacks. As a result, they made a poll tax on voters in 1859 and abolished Jamaicanm self-government in 1866. The most of former slaves were desperately poor and suffered the racial discrimination. They lived hard lives and made Morant Bay rebellion in October 1865.

    The black women suffered more than men. They received not only the racial discriminatin from white, but also the gender discrimination. The traditional view of Jamaicans was that women were inferior than men. Today, the unemployment rate of women was about thirty-nine persent, twice higher than that for men of sixteen percent. Besides, women received less wages than men and they often suffered the domestical violence and sexual abuse. The meaning of freedom  to women included the independence from men.

    When slavery eanded, formet slaves became freeholders. To supplant the former slaves in the plantation, the colonists imported thousands of indentured servants from China, India, and Africa. For example, there were about 21,500 East Indians migrated to Jamaica to work as indentured servants between 1838 to 1917. These indentured servants brought new kinds of culture to make the society more diverse.

      In conclusion, the meaning of freedom to former slaves was not just the abolishment of slavery. Being independt on economy and gaining the politic rights were also important part of meaning of freedom. For women, getting rid of gender descrimination was a significant meaning of freedom. In the post slavery society in Jamaica, former slaves became freeholders and indentured servants from Asia replaced them in the plantation.

  

Sources

1.Holt, Thomas Cleveland, The problems of freedom : race, labor, and politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938, page 55-61. Johns Hopkins University Press: 1992

2. Stone, Thalia S, Jamaican Women: Their Politics, Economics, Roles, and Religions, The Dread Library.

Impacts of Haitian Revolution on Jamaica

     The Haitian Revolution was a significant event in the history of west hemisphere  The revolution threw down the rule of French colonists in Saint-Domingue, created the first black republic in the world, and issued the first general emancipation of slaves, as well as the first declaration for racial equality. It not only influencend the history of Haiti, but also had great effects on the historical progress of United States and whole Caribbean region, including the neighoring island, Jamaica.

     When the news of Haitian Revolution came to Jamaica in September, 1791. It inspired the slaves, who "sang songs about it" (Geggus, 2001, p.X). Hence, the slaveowners of Jamaica feared that their slaves would rebel agasit themselves like the slaves in Saint-Domingue. The governor of Jamaica, Earl of Effingham, sent three or four vessels of war to provide ammunition and supplies to the planters of Saint-Domingue for stopping the revolution. Actually, most planters of Jamaica realized that the security of their plantation was linked to the security of societies in the Saint-Domingue, for the Haitian Revolution would inspire the slaves of Jamaica to run to Haiti, or even take an armed rebellion against their masters. One of the prestigious planters of Jamaica, Bryan Edwards, thought that Jamaican planters should try to assist French islands of Saint-Domingue to prevent the revolution form spreading to Jamaica and other British West Indies Islands. He appointed that results of Haitian Revolution were just ruin of economy and massacre of white people. As the revolution progressed, the fear among slaveowners was higher and higher. They thought that their African and creole slaves gained confidence form the success of former slaves in Saint-Domingue to throw down their masters. Therefore, they called out militia, established committees of security in each parish, and requested more troops from Britian.They also declared martial law in December, 1791, for they thought that Jamaica was on the brink of its own slave revolt (Geggus, 2001, p.46). For example, Thomas Barritt noted that a body of slaves plotted to set fire to Kingston, Spanish Town and Port Royal. In fact, negroes had been found with cartridges and firearms. This phenomenon meant that slaves of Jamaica were actually encouraged by Haitian revolution to seek their own freedom. The outbreak of war between Britain and France in 1793, and the slave emancipation of Haiti issued by French rolutionary edict in 1794 made slaveowners feared not only the internal slave rebellion inspired by Haitian Revolution, but also the outside attack from France and Saint-Domingue. The slaveowners did their best to reinforce their plantation to thwart any possible of slave revolt. The strategy was stronger during the Maroon war of 1795, which was considered as an effect of Haitian Revolution by Earl of Balcarres, the governor of Jamaica at that time.

        On the other hand, some slaveowners including Bryan Edwards, thought that they should improve slaves' condition to relax the tense relation between slaveowners and slaves. This view let the pass of new Jamaican Consolidated Slave Act of 1792, which nominally banned many cruelities. The abolition process, however, was slowed down by Haitian Revolution in some ways. It was because many anti-slavery thinkers feared that abolition of slave trade and slavery might lead to ruin of economy and massacre of white people as  that in Saint-Domingue.

       In addition to fear, slaveowners saw the revolution as an opportunity of profit because their former French rivals were destroyed by the revolution. The devastation of plantation society in Saint-Domingue let planters of other islands gain more opportunity of importing slaves and exporting sugar and coffee. For example, coffee production increased in Jamaica after the Haitian Revolution because of the less of former competitors of Saint-Domingue. The development of plantation economy and the reduction of abolition activities actually strengthened the slavery in Jamaica in some ways.

        In conclusion, Haitian Revolution inspired slaves of Jamaica to seek their own freedom. Hence, the slaveowners of Jamaica worried about the potential slave revolt and took actions to maintain their security, such as reinforcing their defense and restrict the activities of slaves. They also took actions to improve slaves' conditions for relaxing the relation between them and slaves. On the other hand, slaveowner of Jamaica made more profit after revolution because of the devastation of their important rivals in Saint-Domingue. Such profit combined with the reduction of abolition activities and they strengthened the slavery in Jamaica.

Sources:

1. David Patrick Geggus, The Impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World, University of South Carolina Press: 2001

2. William James Gardner, A History of Jamaica, London: 1873