Fear, Possession, and the Structure of the Master–Slave Relationship
The master-slave relationship is based on a fearful relationship that runs on both sides. The element of possession lies in the mindset of a master who thinks a slave is his possession, just like household things are to a house owner. The masters exercised dominance over the slaves and treated them with brutality. The masters’ perception of the slaves of the Black community was that they lacked willpower and moral values.
Slavery began as a justifiable thing where masters used to justify it by saying that they would train slaves in discipline. Slave women were subjected to sexual assault. They were targeted by both the masters for their desirability and their mistresses because of jealousy. The paper will talk about the nature of the masters and the sufferings of the slaves, along with the narratives from the interviews and the conditions under which the slaves worked. The slave codes and punishments in different regions will also be a part of the paper.
Enslavement began in 1630-1640. The onset of slavery as a system emerged with the advent of colonial America by 1740. The antebellum era before the Civil War of 1812 was renowned for its supporters of slavery. This period had the famous inculcation of the seed of ownership and property practice. This period also marked the Industrial Revolution. Chad Luck, in his book, “The Body of Property…” talks about the nature of ownership and possession of masters in antebellum culture. He raised questions like, what does it feel like to own something? Or how does something become one’s property? He stated that ownership is not an abstract legal form but a lived relationship that emerged within a space in the 18.th and 19th centuries. He showed a correlation between the loss of property and anxiety. [1].
The case of possession is how one feels that something belongs to him. Possession or ownership was discussed from the perspective of the law in the 18.th century. John Locke’s view is that ownership is built when the owner combines his efforts with the thing. However, ownership is also linked to title and claim. The hypotheses were checked through a legal wild case of Pierson vs. Post, stating that the declaration of possession is for the one who has certain control over the thing. [2].
Law, Forced Labour, and the Institutionalization of Slavery
The mindset of the white community in early times was based on enforced labour, so it started to develop at the institutional level after the legalization of possession by common law. The slavery law was built on the basis of the dominance of the masters and their right to exercise power over the slaves. Slaves were considered “chattels” that were owned or possessed by the owner by law, and the owners had the right to do whatever they would like with their possessions. The slaves were just like entities, chairs, or cows that were totally under the control of the owner, and the owner’s behaviour was entirely his own affair. [3]
The slave codes appeared in 1661 and gave authority to the masters or owners over the life and death of the slaves. The code described the slaves as “brutish” and “heathenish”. The slave code banned the slaves from possessing any weapon, horse or mule and from meditation. Slave codes all varied with variations in culture. For instance, Bermuda slaves were prohibited from wearing bright-coloured clothes or carrying a stick until they were declared lame. Bahama slaves could be beaten if they were found selling eggs or liquids or gambling. Slaves were not allowed to have their own land or property. The slaves could not file any charge against whites; otherwise, they would be doomed, and no testimony would be offered in their defence. [4]
The punishments given to slaves varied with the region and cultural background. The punishment act of Montserrat 1663 empowered white masters to kill a slave for the crime of stealing. The Virginia Act of 1783 prescribed membrane cutting or nose slitting for the crime of stealing. Punishment on the personal level was coercion along with flogging. Mutilation also adhered to flogging. The Barbados Act defined harsh punishment for common offences, such as hanging a slave to death from hunger and thirst; he could have been hanged and then cut into pieces, or he could be burnt to ashes. [3] Pain or physical torture was added along with solitude and labour in the American prison system. The punishments were solitude, watchfulness, cutting off communication and physical pain in the Auburn prisons. [5]
Domestic Slave Trade and the Commodification of Human Life
With the emergence of the domestic slave trade in the 18th century, many slaves were sold from the upper South. The slave traders set up businesses, and they used it as a threat to slaves for their work. The slaves were so frightened that if they were sold, they would never see their families again. The slaves and their closest family members were sold frequently. It is evident from the slave’s narrative written in the Léonard narrative:
“As near as I can remember, my mother and sister were sold and taken to New Orleans, leaving four brothers and myself behind. We were all placed out. At six years of age, I was placed with a Mr. Bradford, separated from my father, mother, and family.”
The slave market in the antebellum period was a famous market for new or lean slaves, and people used to sell the slaves for compensation or to pay their debts. Traders used ads to expand their trade business. Even if a person died at that time without the division of property or slaves, the state was authorized to divide the savings by the law of inheritance. [6].
The expectations of masters from slaves and the attitude of the masters toward slaves came out through interviews with ex-slaves in the Slave Narrative collection. Slaves took the paternalistic approach; they showed that slaves were told that they were not masters of their destiny and they depended on their masters for everything. In another interview, ex-slave Berry Smith talked about his ex-master, “de Bullwhip an’ de paddle”. The master did not teach us anything but forced us to labour. [7].
Frederick Douglass, Literacy, and the Journey Toward Freedom
The autobiography of Fredrick Douglas, who wrote about the experience of slavery and the epiphanies he found through the journey to freedom, explains the crucial sufferings of the slave in the master-slave relationship. The loss of the family described by Douglass,
“He was immediately chained and handcuffed, and thu……………..by a hand more unrelenting than death. (3.5)”.
In the above quote, Douglass explained the biggest fear of slavery, which is separation from family. He didn’t see his father. He barely remembered his mother when she died, and he was not allowed to see her at the funeral because he was a slave. [9].
Material Deprivation and Everyday Life on the Plantation
Slaves earned fewer material benefits. Mostly, they were provided with basic things like food, cotton clothing, and crude lodgings. The chances for plantation slaves to earn cash were high; they used to get small amounts of cash as a reward for good work. Wages were different according to the contracts and types of working conditions. The self-hired slaves who were allowed to be hired by the masters earned around $100 per year. [8] Slave men and women, along with children, worked 16 hours per day at harvest time and six days a week with half of Saturday. They used to work as a group of 25 members. Skilled slaves who worked as cabinet makers earned wages equal to those of white people.
Men and women both were exploited under the act of slavery through sexual assault. The fertility of women in the 19th century was much more pronounced, with childbirth rates at proper times. The frontiersmen used enslaved women as legal wives for raising children as bond slaves and prostitutes. Northern women were sold into brothels in North America.
Furthermore, the use of power by the masters to create dominance was imposed on women, and sex was used as a mode of authority over submissive women. The masters used sexual harassment and sexual abuse to punish the slaves. The punishment of slaves through rape was desirable to the masters as it gave them a sense of power and control over the slave, who would comply with whatever the master desired.
Forced Reproduction and the Exploitation of Enslaved Women
Another brutality was slave-breeding, in which enslaved women were forced to reproduce without their consent. Reproduction was arranged by the masters and sometimes through an arranged marriage between slaves chosen for reproduction by the master.
The control of married women over their sexual lives was also under the control of the masters. If a woman produced healthy offspring, she was forced into rape or sexual assault for the profitable business of reproduction by the masters. The freedom of their personal sexual relationships was snatched from them. According to the narration from the ex-slave mentioned in Harlot Jacob,
“Women are considered of no value unless they continuously increase their owner’s stock. They are put on a par with animals.”
Sexual Violence and the Absolute Power of Slaveholders
Sexual abuse was one of the most brutal and invasive ways to show control over the lives of the slaves by the masters. Likewise, male slaves were also used by female masters for pleasure, punishment, and dominance in the master-slave relationship. It is explained through a narrative from an anonymous slave from Georgia.
“In the time’s white men when [went] with colored gals and women bold. Anytime they saw one and wanted her, she had to go with him, and his wife didn’t say anything bout it.”
The female master used male slaves to feel that she had control over her life. The wives of the slaves were not allowed to stop it from happening. [10]
The master-slave relationship is dominant-submissive and has embodied brutalities throughout history. The relationship benefitted both sides, but the masters in the equation achieved more than they were supposed to get. The slaves were handled by the feudal lords of the 18th and 19th centuries, who treated them as animals, possessions, or part of their settlement for their public and personal gain. Slaves were sold and preserved because they were seen as investments for future profit. On the other hand, the slaves were bound by the necessities of life and by the law. The women faced brutal relationship realities and physical torture in the form of sexual torment. The end of slavery happened after a revolt in 1822. Slaves became rebellious and struggled to fight for their own survival.
References
Haslam, Jason. Fitting Sentences: Identity in Nineteenth and Twentieth-century Prison. Narratives. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2005.
History Extra. Slave labor. 4 April 2012. https://www.historyextra.com/period/slave-labour/. 4 April 2012.
Luck, Chad. The body of property: Antebellum American fiction and the phenomenology of Possession. New York: Fordham University Press, 2014.
Mamrak, Skylar. “Victims of Lust and Hate: Master and Slave Sexual Relations in the Antebellum United States.” Valley Humanities Review Spring (2016): 0-17.
Musher, Sharon. “Contesting ‘The Way the Almighty Wants It’: Crafting Memories of Ex-Slaves in the Slave Narrative Collection.” JSTOR: American Quarterly (2009): 1-31. https://www.academia.edu/12070940/Contesting_The_Way_the_Almighty_Wants_It_Crafting_Memories_of_Ex-Slaves_in_the_Slave_Narrative_Collection.
Reclaiming Kin. How Were Slaves Sold? 9 January 2016. https://www.reclaimingkin.com/how-were-slaves-sold/. 9 January 2016.
Shmoop. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. n.d. https://www.shmoop.com/life-of-Frederick-douglass/family-quotes.html.
The Save Laws. “The Control and Treatment of the Slaves.” n.d.
U.S History. Slave Codes”. n.d. https://www.ushistory.org/us/6f.asp.
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