Abolition of slavery- "The Big Disappointment"

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

A fascinating article here-

http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/emmer.html

Here's an extract-

In principle, the ending of the terrible and inefficient system of slavery should have produced progress, optimism, and gratefulness on all fronts. To many, however, the end of slavery in the Caribbean was a big disappointment. On average, the ex-slaves did not become yeomen farmers nor did they improve their income and status as free plantation workers as many had hoped. The abolitionists in Europe and North America, who had fought so gallantly to get slavery abolished, were dismayed. The pessimistic predictions of their adversaries about a dramatic decline in plantation output had proved all too real. (1) Most abolitionists had not expected that so many of the freedmen would leave the plantations or that so many would fail to become the hard working, God-fearing peasantry that they had envisioned. Unwilling to admit that the fault lay with an unrealistic assessment on their own part; they attributed the blame to the planters as well as to the colonial and home governments. Obstinacy or obstruction on the part of the planters and the colonial civil servants could only lead either to the stagnation that the freedmen had experienced, or, worse, to a decline in their living and working conditions. Yet, the planters were also disappointed. They realized that their slaves had not been emancipated in order to improve the profitability of their plantations, but only a few planters had expected that their supply of permanent plantation labour would be reduced so dramatically. In order to fill the gap they were forced to search for reliable labourers in such far away places as India and China. In sum, the abolition of slavery seemed to have produced nothing but disappointment all round.

Any thoughts?

[PLATO]

Slavery is bad no matter the cost of abolishing it.

It should be expected that it would take time for oppressed people to recover. Educational equality would take a generation, at least. In the US, it doesn't seem that even this fundamental is overcome after 140+ years.

[lord of the mark]

Re: Abolition of slavery- "The Big Disappointment"

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp
A fascinating article here-

http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/emmer.html

Here's an extract-



Any thoughts?

reference to abolitionists in europe AND north america, while the social conditions described are those of the Caribbean, NOT North America (where, all in all many blacks DID become a hardworking, god fearing peasantry, albeit one that suffered from bitter post-slavery racism)

Did the labor supply decline dramatically? Ive read of the import of Asian labor (esp in Guyana and Trinidad), but also (in reading about the Panama Canal) about abundant and cheap black labor in the Brit West Indies. The general impression I got from that was of simple Malthusianism at work, depressing wages. In fact it was odd that that there wasnt a massive emigration from the West Indies to US cities in that period (1900-1910) as conditions in places from with euro immigrants came (Italy, etc) could hardly have been much worse, and I doubt that US employers would have been unwilling to take West Indian blacks.

Of course in the 1920s there WAS a massive migration from the West Indies to the US. Im not sure how that times out relative to the migration to the UK.

[Cyclotron]

In sum, the abolition of slavery seemed to have produced nothing but disappointment all round.

The author mentions the planters and abolitionists being disappointed and calls that "disappointment all round," does he? Might he be missing a crucial element of the population here, one that was not disappointed by slavery's end? You know... the slaves?

Yeah, big surprise that the abolition of a system that exploits one class of people might disappoint those who aren't being exploited. You sure pulled out a shocker there, Pieter C. Emmer!

[Ekmek]

Generally all the good comments were said. Essentially it takes a generation if not three to undo the effects of slavery and it requires a society supportive of this change.


Just to throw this out there. The Southerners in the 1800s, when it was more ambiguous about whether Slavery was good or bad (not just to whites, because there were few free blacks that did have slaves ), had a rationale for the 'peculiar institution'

Besides throwing out bible verses (and the bible wasnt against slavery) they also cited the 'advantages' of slavery over industrialization. the irony is that they used a lot of language that we still hear from socialist types: there is no living wage, work conditions are poor, etc.
The slaveowners argued that because slaves were property and an investment, owners take better care of them and provide housing and food where as the industrialist gave a few pennies and had their workers struggle on the street for food and shelter.


Again, I'm not saying what they said is right, but just throwing out what an argument for slavery looked like.

[BeBMan]

I dunno about that, but I just read something on the abolition of serfdom in 1860ies Russia, and there you indeed have many reports of peasants who did not understand the reforms (well, how could they, given their non-education)/that were disappointed by it/or in some cases even wanted to return to the former status.

[lord of the mark]

"On average, the ex-slaves did not become yeomen farmers nor did they improve their income and status as free plantation workers as many had hoped. "

again, its not clear whom this is referring to.

In the US, a significant minority of ex-slaves did become yeoman farmers, and most of the rest became sharecroppers. Incomes and status varied over time, as one would expect.

I dont know that the ex-slaves in the carib did for a living. Anyone care to fill me in?

[Dr Strangelove]

I lived in Grenada for 3 years. In Grenada at the time of emancipation there was land that was not under cultivation. Many of the ex-slaves moved to this land and grew yams and chickens. They preferred a subsistance living to working on the plantations, where they had been generally abused and badly treated. The planters brought in East Indians, but they found that their new workers thrived in commerce. Soon the Indians were moving off the plantations and establishing their own businesses. The planters were back to square one. Grenada's main produce had been indigo, but without labor the plantations went under, and then the Germans invented synthetic dyes. Later Grenada specialized in nutmeg as some mixed heritage Grenadians eventually took over and limited plantation agriculture was revived. In the 1960s Grenada found a new agicultural industry, growing the plants from which computer cards were made. When direct digital input replaced the old cards that business failed.

[Nostromo]

Galbraith said somewhere that one of the solutions was to create new needs in the ex-slaves. To satisfy those new needs, they would need money. And in order to get that money, they needed to work hard... in the plantations.

[Cyclotron]

Grenada's main produce had been indigo, but without labor the plantations went under, and then the Germans invented synthetic dyes.

Interesting. Germany's woad industry got tanked by indigo, but I guess they got the last laugh after all.

[Caligastia]

Regarding the enslavement of non-westerners by westerners, the former often benefitted from the skills and knowledge of the latter - even while suffering under an oppressive yoke. The economic disappointment following the abolition of slavery should not have come as a surprise, as the former slaves reverted back to their primitive ways.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Caligastia
Regarding the enslavement of non-westerners by westerners, the former often benefitted from the skills and knowledge of the latter - even while suffering under an oppressive yoke. The economic disappointment following the abolition of slavery should not have come as a surprise, as the former slaves reverted back to their primitive ways.

we're talking the West Indies. Where they had to keep up a steady, large scale import of slaves constant, cause the slaves kept dying and didnt reproduce. Where a male slave (and mainly they imported males) cut cane all day, 7 days a week. Till they dropped.

They didnt learn many skills, cutting cane.

Again, in North America, they did NOT revert to any "primitive ways" but established themselves as small farmers, sometimes as "yeomen" but usually as sharecroppers.

[Caligastia]

That's nice.