White labour in black slave plantation society /and economy : a case study of indentured labour in seventeenth century Barbados
This study was prompted by the need to fill a gap within the labour historiography of the English speaking West Indies. From the 1950s, the number of works dealing with Black and Asian indentured servitude have been rapidly increasing. In this upsurge of interest in West Indian history the study of white indentured servitude, the basis of the early plantation economy, remained largely unworked. This study attempts to evaluate the importance of white indentured labour to plantation development in Barbados, the most valuable colony within the English mercantile system of the seventeenth century. The use of indentured labour, which was recruited from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for commodity production in the first half of the century, provided the basis for the gradual transition to Black slavery. This process is analysed to show the development of the ideologies of race and colour, and their application to the division of labour in the West Indies. The transformation of the English institution of indentured servitude, with its pre-industrial, moral, paternalistic superstructure, into a market system of brutal servitude, is a central theme of the work. The contradictions of white labour in a Black slave
Beckles, Hilary MacDonald
History; Slavery
White labour in black slave plantation society /and economy : a case study of indentured labour in seventeenth century Barbados. This study was prompted by the need to fill a gap within the labour historiography of the English speaking West Indies. From the 1950s, the number of works dealing with Black and Asian indentured servitude have been rapidly increasing. In this upsurge of interest in West Indian history the study of white indentured servitude, the basis of the early plantation economy, remained largely unworked. This study attempts to evaluate the importance of white indentured labour to plantation development in Barbados, the most valuable colony within the English mercantile system of the seventeenth century. The use of indentured labour, which was recruited from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for commodity production in the first half of the century, provided the basis for the gradual transition to Black slavery. This process is analysed to show the development of the ideologies of race and colour, and their application to the division of labour in the West Indies. The transformation of the English institution of indentured servitude, with its pre-industrial, moral, paternalistic superstructure, into a market system of brutal servitude, is a central theme of the work. The contradictions of white labour in a Black slave
white labour black slave plantation society and economy case_study indenture labour barbados study prompt need fill_gap within labour historiography english_speaking west_indies number work deal black asian rapidly increase upsurge interest west_indian history study white basis early plantation economy remain_largely unworked study_attempt evaluate importance white indenture labour plantation development barbados valuable colony within english mercantile system use indenture labour recruit england_scotland wales ireland commodity production provide_basis gradual transition black slavery process analyse show development ideology race colour application division_labour west_indies transformation english institution indenture pre_industrial moral paternalistic superstructure market system brutal central_theme work contradiction white labour black slave