Imagine

When studying history it is vital to look at events that took place from every perspective possible. By doing this you improve your chances dramatically of correctly piecing together that part of history. It is not uncommon when looking back on slavery in the Caribbean to unconsciously forget about half the population that was being oppressed. The half of the population that is more vulnerable to sexual and mental abuse by their masters. The half of the population that can bear children as a result of this abuse and have to raise a child for the entirety of their lives, that was born out of tragedy rather then love. Women. Despite their unique experiences as being an enslaved person in the Caribbean individual accounts of their lives are few and far between. This misrepresentation in history books is dangerous to the students of our future because they may not receive correct information dealing with enslaved Dominican women and their stories could very easily could be lost with time. In addition to the color of their skin placing them at an automatic disadvantage in society, being a women at a time of male slovenliest owners made them a double minority and the chances of prosperity near impossible. Today we will attempt to end the cycle of forgetting about enslaved women when studying about history and piece together a hypothetical typical day in the life of an enslaved Caribbean women to better understand the trials and tribulations they faced on a regular basis.

Day in the Life of me as an enslaved women:

4:00am – I wake up after a not so good sleep. Well honestly it was more of a nap because I only got to close my eyes for four hours. My laundry list of things to do for my master took longer then expected yesterday and if I wanted to avoid be beaten today I had to work till everything was done. Last night was way to hot. It is the summer months now in the Dominican and our housing has zero windows, so the chance of catching a breeze in none. I tossed and turned in a hot sweat last night. The bugs never seem to let up and bites seem to cover my body.

4:30am – We report to work. Kim, my masters newborn daughter wakes up about 5:00 every morning so I must be up and ready to tend to her so no one else in the house wakes up. I have overslept once or twice and you would’ve thought my master’s house burnt down he was so furious. I was taken out to the backyard where our gang leader was made to lash me all morning. The hurt in his eyes has disappeared now when he has to beat one of his own, but at the beginning you could tell that really messed with him. No longer is he liked by any of the slaves, poor guy he is just doing what he is made to do I suppose. We are all just trying to do our job well enough not to get beaten.

5:00am- Kim wakes up. Bless this child’s heart she doesn’t know she’s been born into a loveless family yet. She has no idea how cruel and nasty her dad is yet. I dress her and rock her for a little while just trying to keep her quiet, Mrs. K will be awake in an hour or two that’s when she’ll eat. I hope to someday have a child, a baby boy would be nice. I would love that child more then anything in the entire world but I would never bring a child into slavery. I’m gonna become free before I have me a baby. I would die if he ever saw his mother being treated like we are here. I heard in England there are no slaves so I have been saving up to get there. It is hard to make money when I’m working all the time for Mr. K though, still I will find a way.

7:00- Mrs. K wakes up and feeds Kim. I go outside to start on laundry. If I can get everything done in the morning hours its not so hot. I rarely get any water when I’m working so trying to stay in the shade is important. I must go to try and beat the heat, will write later.

1:00 I finished up the laundry before it got to hot today. Mr. K came by though and said I was working to slow, that man doesn’t even understand the idea of working let alone speed. He said I can expect a beating after my work was finished so now I am dreading the rest of the day. You never get use to it ya know, being beat. You might think after awhile it wouldn’t hurt as bad but they are always finding ways to make it hurt worse. This one time they rubbed salt in my cuts just to watch me scream. This was all over a plate I broke in the kitchen when Mrs. K ran into me. She was to scared of Mr. K to take the blame so she accused me of not watching where I was going. I hope to get married someday but not like Mrs. And Mr. K’s relationship. He cheats on her with some of the women and she has no idea, my husband won’t do that. I probably won’t find a husband though till I get to England, I don’t get much interaction with people always being inside the master’s house. I fear that if I don’t make it to England I will die before someone every really loves me. I bet my mom would’ve loved me but I was sold to the K’s so young she never got to know me. I think about her often. I wonder sometimes if she is still alive and well. It is a tough life as a women slave and easy to die during childbirth or illness.

2:00- I get lunch. It’s not much but it is more then the other slaves. Soup and some bread, it should last me till tonight. I am still dreading Mr. K’s threat this morning about being beaten. I hope something eventful happens this afternoon and he forgets.

2:20- Back to work taking care of Kim. She is a sweet child and doesn’t cry to much. While I am watching her I am also cleaning the house. Mrs. K really get anxious if one thing is out of place here.

4:30- Mr. K did not forget about his threat and got me from the house. I was stripped and tied to a tree where he whipped me himself. I got fifty lashes to the back. He said I got so many so I remember not to move so slow next time. To me it just seems as if he was in one of those moods where he enjoyed doing it. I am excused from work the rest of the afternoon but that doesn’t mean my duties go away. Tomorrow will be terrible, if I can even move I will have to get up two or three hours earlier then normal to get started on my work. Hopefully someone will be able to sneak me some dinner tonight, if not I will go to bed hungry.

Sources:

Prince, Mart. The History of Mary Prince- a West Indian SLave Narrative. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc, 1831.

Bush, Barbara. Slave Women in Caribbean Society, 1650-1832. Bloomington: Indiana University Press , 1990.