What was the seasoning process of slaves?
Seasoning, or The Seasoning, was the period of adjustment that slave traders and slaveholders subjected African slaves to following their arrival in the Americas.
What happened at seasoning camps?
Slaves who were judged to be disobedient or difficult could be sent to ‘seasoning camps’. As many as half of the slaves sent to these camps died in them. Those who were too weak or sick to be sold were sometimes just left to die.
How were the plantations divided?
The plantation system developed in the American South as the British colonists arrived in Virginia and divided the land into large areas suitable for farming. Because the economy of the South depended on the cultivation of crops, the need for agricultural labor led to the establishment of slavery.
What was the period of seasoning?
“Seasoning period” is a term describing a time endured by many newcomers to North Carolina and other colonies in the South during which they became acclimated to the weather and living conditions. Humidity and temperature seem to have been especially troublesome to those who arrived from Great Britain.
What was the seasoning period for African slaves?
What kind of Labor did slaves do on the plantation?
Typically slave labor on the plantation was divided into two broad categories: house servants and field hands. The process of turning a person into a house servant or field hand was called “seasoning.”
What was the process of turning a slave into a field hand?
Typically slave labor on the plantation was divided into two broad categories: house servants and field hands. The process of turning a person into a house servant or field hand was called “seasoning.”. The goal of seasoning was to socialize the enslaved into disciplined, obedient workers.
How many Africans died during the seasoning process?
It is estimated that close to 20 percent of those who reached American shores perished during the seasoning process (Society of Friends 1842, p. 19). During the seasoning process people were divided into three categories: New Africans or saltwater Negroes; Old Africans; and Creoles.