Effecting freedom: From slave quarters to own homes

Dr Rita Pemberton

In 1838, when the law mandating the termination of the apprenticeship system and the start of full emancipation from August 1, 1838, was passed, there was no clearly identifiable route to effect the emancipation of the formerly enslaved Africans who had laboured ad nauseum under the slave system.

In Tobago, the planters who openly opposed the law remained in control of the island’s Assembly and Council. They were determined to defy the law, resist emancipation and maintain a slave society. However, the freed population was equally determined to liberate themselves from planter control and the brutal laws which were imposed on the enslaved population. The reality was that all the island’s accessible land was in the hands of the plantation owners, some of whom extended the size of their properties by acquiring nearby abandoned estates and the unoccupied poor man’s lots. In contrast, those with locations close to the sea extended their borders to have seafront properties to restrict sea access to the fishing-free people community to reduce their opportunities for independent employment. Their main aim was to maintain a dependent workforce of estate labourers who had no option but to accept the terms of work dictated by the planters.

In the absence of supporting legislation, and despite their challenges, it was therefore up to the freed Africans to carve their route to freedom. This they fully recognised and were determined to do. During the first weeks of freedom, their intent was signalled by three actions which were virtual declarations that the path of unabated resistance was their path to freedom. Their first path to freedom began with the assertion of control over their labour which was manifested by absenting themselves from their places of work for extended periods to celebrate freedom. On some estates, these celebratory activities lasted for weeks with workers demanding better terms for their labour. This was a signal that the freed Africans were not prepared to accept the slave-like terms and conditions which planters were determined to maintain.

Their next path to freedom was laid on the quest to wriggle free of planter control by separating their homes away from plantation residences which quarters reeked of inferiority and control and were among the most enduring symbols of the status of enslavement. The first steps in this process required a movement off the estates to establish their homes which practice was most marked on the western side of the island especially in and around Scarborough and in the Leeward areas. Although the most desirable option, this path was not possible for many of the freed Africans who were not able to acquire their own properties. Because of the obstacles utilised by planters to restrict black landowning. These included raising the price of land to unaffordable levels, selling useless land often without titles and working as a united force to block land sales to prevent black landowning. Most freed Africans, particularly those located on the windward side, became tenants of the estates renting house spots to build their own homes.

The ability to live in one’s own home regardless of whether it was located on owned or rented land, provided such a humanising effect that there was a rapid increase in this practice. These homes allowed their owners to pay close attention to their comfort in ways that were not possible in estate-provided quarters. In reaction to the state of squalor in which they were forced to live as enslaved people, the freed Africans built new houses with wooden floors, some with shingled roofs but most with cane trash roofs and adjoining kitchens which were located in proximity to, but outside of the main house structure. The houses afforded privacy and were furnished with beds with mattresses and pillows which were stuffed with corn husk; tables, glasses and crockery which were mostly display items. Acquisition of a house was such an important goal that it generated house pride which was illustrated by the continuous efforts of the owners to enhance the buildings as their resources allowed.

In keeping with house pride, self-pride was also manifested. As the freed people moved away from wearing the coarse cloth which was annually allocated as cloth rations. The new thrust into clothes was most visible at weddings and other celebrations when considerable resources were expended on clothes for these occasions.

Ownership of a house permitted the development of family life. Prodded by the churches, marriages increased and the role which was formerly exercised by the plantation owners who had responsibility for all their enslaved possessions came to an end. Parents assumed responsibility for members of their families and in particular, for the care of their children. In addition, the role of the male in the household was more clearly defined. Parents preferred to send their children to school rather than have them work on the estates. They were able to make that decision despite pressures from the planters.

In their homes, families were able to determine and prepare their own meals and not have to subsist on communally prepared food in the kitchens. Despite the trade restrictions imposed by the imperial system which caused imported salt fish, salt beef and salt pork to become food staples, the freedom of food preparation permitted more common utilisation of traditional food and foodways. House owners were also permitted to grow their own food.

The rented house spot also came with access to provision grounds which allowed the residents to plant food crops such as cassava, yams, tannias, pigeon peas, corn, ochroes, dasheen, bananas, soosumber, and gumah; rear chickens, goats, sheep and pigs in the hog pens that are constructed near the houses and dogs for hunting. This supplemented family food and when sold, helped to generate additional income.

This burst of activity generated employment among the freed people such as carpenters who built the houses and furniture and the dressmakers who responded to the new demand for clothes. These skilled trades provided another avenue for training the young boys and girls in activities that could provide alternative employment with better earning possibilities than estate labour. Freed Africans also acquired equipment from abandoned estates which were used in processing some of the items they produced. These included mills for grinding corn to make corn flour and the coppers which were used to boil cane juice, for making farine.

Life in post-emancipation Tobago remained very difficult. Estate owners refused to continue to carry the burden of responsibility for the health care which service was provided by doctors or quacks, who charged exorbitant fees for their services. There was no hospital on the island and no provision for the accommodation of those people with challenges related to age, mental or physical disability, there was no provision for clean water supply to the new homes and the facility to obtain water from the estate was tied to the provision of estate labour by recipients. Despite the prevailing difficulties the ability to move from the restrictions of plantation quarters was an important step in the process of liberation. The acquisition of a house brought expression of an increased sense of self and identity which was essential in the process of motion from enslavement to liberation.