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What Role Did Women Play In The Slave Trade Essay

912 Words4 Pages

Understanding the role the women played in the slave trade and community is important to offer a new dynamic to the study of slave culture in general. Not only were slave women subordinate because of race but they also shared the trials of the oppression of the female gender. Women slaves played a key role in the development of slave communities through the development of African Sexuality, Family Structure and Economic Productivity. It is therefore infinitely important that we must understand the slave trade from a female perspective to understand the development of these slave communities. A- African Sexuality The African female was ascribed not only economic responsibilities when purchased as a slave. Often sexual duties and childbearing were of primary importance to the exploitation and white men were inexplicably drawn to the ‘exotic charms’ of African womanhood. Throughout the slave trade, black women often were represented and …show more content…

The first tier was composed of adult slaves that performed heavy work like digging holes for sugar which was said to be the most demanding of field tasks. The second tier was made up of older and younger slaves that did the lighter work on the plantation. These tasks consisted of planting cane, bundling it and carrying it to the carts. The younger children on the plantation covered the cane with dirt, this "little gang" would most likely make up the third tier of production. As the influx of young African male slaves decreased, women slaves were moved from the house to the field where they composed nearly 60% of the labor force. Women slaves, however tended to compose the second gang of sugar production while the male slaves dug the holes. The fact that female African slaves were versatile in both areas, domestic and agricultural, created the popular image of them as the time as somewhat animalistic because of their unparalleled female

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