Caribbean Slavery

Black slavery in the Antilles helped define Caribbean culture. Most people living in Haiti, Jamaica, and the smaller islands of the Caribbean are descended from these slaves, something that can't be said for most of the American south. To understand this culture requires a careful analysis of the sugar trade, colonial powers, and the nature of society in these colonies.

Sugar cane became a profitable commodity in the Caribbean in the 1640's, when French and English exporters switched to cane production from indigo, tobacco and other goods. At the time, prohibitions on trade with other European powers were loosely enforced. According to economic historian Robert Batie, French and English colonies "experienced the same economic trends...since their settlers lived under similar free market institutions, raised nearly identical commodities, and bought their slaves from and sold their products to the same Dutch merchants." (Batie 38) Colonies switched to sugar production...
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