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Chapter 4. ‘‘White Slaves’’

British Labor in Early Barbados
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A New World of Labor
This chapter is in the book A New World of Labor
Chapter4‘‘White Slaves’’British Labor in Early BarbadosThe social, economic, and political situation of the British Isles alignedneatly with the needs of the developing Barbadian sugar economy, for con-ditions in the British Isles encouraged the migration of laborers to Barba-dos. Enclosure and engrossment, rising population and prices, anddeclining wages combined to leave many young Britons with limited or noemployment, while vagrancy laws, rebellions, and wars created a surpluspopulation of men who were a burden to the state. Yet conditions on theisland soon made migration unattractive even for impoverished and unem-ployed English agricultural workers. Opportunities for the voluntary ser-vants declined rapidly, and as conditions of labor deteriorated the supplyof voluntary servants diminished dramatically. By the mid-1650s many inthe British Isles would travel to labor on the island only if they were ‘‘Barba-dosed,’’ meaning that they had been kidnapped or ‘‘spirited’’ away, illegalpractices that may have helped secure a few more bound workers but ren-dered Barbados an increasingly unattractive option for voluntary laborers.Desperate for the workers on whom they depended, planters and theirEnglish agents worked hard to secure state support for regular shipment oflarge numbers of unfree, bound laborers, and by the mid-1640s Barbadoshad the largest market in bound white laborers in English America. Planta-tions on Barbados, including early sugar agriculture and manufacture, werefashioned by English, Scottish, and Irish bound laborers. Many died, butby the mid-1650s some12,000bound white men, women, and childrenlabored on Barbadian plantations.1With England preoccupied by the Civil War and the ensuing Wars ofthe Three Kingdoms, a Barbadian workforce composed of vagrants, crimi-nals, and prisoners had few rights and protections. Thus, although it was

Chapter4‘‘White Slaves’’British Labor in Early BarbadosThe social, economic, and political situation of the British Isles alignedneatly with the needs of the developing Barbadian sugar economy, for con-ditions in the British Isles encouraged the migration of laborers to Barba-dos. Enclosure and engrossment, rising population and prices, anddeclining wages combined to leave many young Britons with limited or noemployment, while vagrancy laws, rebellions, and wars created a surpluspopulation of men who were a burden to the state. Yet conditions on theisland soon made migration unattractive even for impoverished and unem-ployed English agricultural workers. Opportunities for the voluntary ser-vants declined rapidly, and as conditions of labor deteriorated the supplyof voluntary servants diminished dramatically. By the mid-1650s many inthe British Isles would travel to labor on the island only if they were ‘‘Barba-dosed,’’ meaning that they had been kidnapped or ‘‘spirited’’ away, illegalpractices that may have helped secure a few more bound workers but ren-dered Barbados an increasingly unattractive option for voluntary laborers.Desperate for the workers on whom they depended, planters and theirEnglish agents worked hard to secure state support for regular shipment oflarge numbers of unfree, bound laborers, and by the mid-1640s Barbadoshad the largest market in bound white laborers in English America. Planta-tions on Barbados, including early sugar agriculture and manufacture, werefashioned by English, Scottish, and Irish bound laborers. Many died, butby the mid-1650s some12,000bound white men, women, and childrenlabored on Barbadian plantations.1With England preoccupied by the Civil War and the ensuing Wars ofthe Three Kingdoms, a Barbadian workforce composed of vagrants, crimi-nals, and prisoners had few rights and protections. Thus, although it was

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Introduction 1
  4. PART I. Settings
  5. Chapter 1. England 17
  6. Chapter 2. The Gold Coast 36
  7. Chapter 3. Barbados 54
  8. PART II. British Bound Labor
  9. Chapter 4. ‘‘White Slaves’’ 71
  10. Chapter 5. ‘‘A Company of White Negroes’’ 108
  11. PART III. African Bound Labor
  12. Chapter 6. ‘‘A Spirit of Liberty’’ 139
  13. Chapter 7. ‘‘We Have No Power over Them’’ 166
  14. PART IV. Plantation Slavery
  15. Chapter 8. ‘‘The Harsh Tyranny of Our Masters’’ 189
  16. Chapter 9. ‘‘Forced to Labour Beyond Their Natural Strength’’ 216
  17. Conclusion 243
  18. Notes 259
  19. Bibliography 309
  20. Index 321
  21. Acknowledgments 325
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812208313.71

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Introduction 1
  4. PART I. Settings
  5. Chapter 1. England 17
  6. Chapter 2. The Gold Coast 36
  7. Chapter 3. Barbados 54
  8. PART II. British Bound Labor
  9. Chapter 4. ‘‘White Slaves’’ 71
  10. Chapter 5. ‘‘A Company of White Negroes’’ 108
  11. PART III. African Bound Labor
  12. Chapter 6. ‘‘A Spirit of Liberty’’ 139
  13. Chapter 7. ‘‘We Have No Power over Them’’ 166
  14. PART IV. Plantation Slavery
  15. Chapter 8. ‘‘The Harsh Tyranny of Our Masters’’ 189
  16. Chapter 9. ‘‘Forced to Labour Beyond Their Natural Strength’’ 216
  17. Conclusion 243
  18. Notes 259
  19. Bibliography 309
  20. Index 321
  21. Acknowledgments 325
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