Slave Women Vs. Enslaved Women

In 1750, slaves constituted roughly eighty-five to eighty-eight percent of the population in territories conquered by Great Britain and France. By 1830, the population of slaves dropped four to eight percent in British and French territories (Palmie, 248). Regardless of the population decrease of slaves, enslaved people far outnumbered white slave owners. In reaction to a heavily populated slave society, slave codes were created to establish white dominance and superiority over enslaved people. These codes prohibited “unauthorized movement, large congregations, possession of guns and other weapons, … and secret ritual practice” (Palmie, 254). Slave codes meant that white plantation owners controlled certain aspects of a slave’s life. The slave

First, male slaves were able to avoid their masters by becoming invisible field hands. They were able to keep their distance from their masters, while female slaves did not have that option. Enslaved women were laborers, mothers, and sexual partners. In these three aspects, female slaves were contributed to a slave owner’s economic prosperity in two ways: enslaved women were forced to do labor and reproduce, increasing their number of slaves along with their wealth (Burnard, 210). Second, enslaved women were also exploited for sex. Slave owners used their female slaves for sexual gratification. For instance, Thistlewood being a slave owner had free access to enslaved women. In his thirty-seven years in Jamaica, he had sexual intercourse with 138 women, majority being slaves. He forced his slaves to perform sexual acts from early in the morning to late at night. He also forced them to have sex in sugar cane fields, his house, and slave houses. He molested girls after they hit puberty, sometimes even before. In addition, Thistlewood raped slaves that were eight months pregnant (Burnard, 158). Like Thistlewood, many slave owners were sexual predators and

Although house slaves were forced to accept white men’s sexual advances, they were able to advance economically. For instance, by the time Thistlewood died, Phibbah, his most favor female slave, was a wealthy woman for a slave. She achieved independence for herself, and even more for her children. Phibbah also owned land and live stalk. She would trade whatever gifts Thistlewood gave her to increase wealth. Being Thistlewood’s most favored slave and being an accomplished seamstress, she was able to sell clothes to both black and white people. Phibbah, like many slaves, used the exploitation of their sexuality to attain wealth, property, and freedom (Burnard,