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As the plantation system developed the demand for more slaves grew. African slaves were forced to work on plantations. Life on plantations was hard for slaves. Those who had to work in the field were called field hands. Field hands had to be up before dawn to feed livestock. They had to prepare meals before rushing off to the field. Those who were late getting to the field often received some type of physical punishment. Field duties included planting crops, picking crops, clearing land or whatever the overseer had them to do. After working in the field from sun up to sun down, the field hands had to clean up their work area, tend to livestock, and prepare their meals before the bedtime horn sounded. The field hands had to sleep in one -room log cabins. The cabins were usually overcrowded. The field hands had to sleep on dirt floors, unless they made their own furniture. Life for the field hand slaves was rough. Slaves who were on the plantation but didn't work in the field were called domestic servants.
Domestic servants had better housing than field hand slaves, but the way they were treated was no different from the others. They were frequently punished for mistakes. They were kept under close watch. They had to stay up until their master went to sleep and had to be up at early dawn. They usually ate leftovers from their master. They dressed in old clothes of their master. Their duties included running errands, house chores, taking care of their master children, etc. They had to be ready for work at the call of the master.
The plantation lifestyle that the slaves lived would be considered as cruel and unusually punishment today. |
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