Emancipation and the apprenticeship system in the British Caribbean
OBJECTIVE
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Outline five clauses of the Emancipation Act.
2. Assess three factors that accounted for the apprenticeship system ending prematurely.
CLAUSES OF THE EMANCIPATION ACT
The system of chattel slavery in the British Caribbean ended with the passage of the Emancipation Act of 1833. The act came into effect on August 1, 1834. It outlined that:
a) Enslaved children under six years would be freed immediately; all other enslaved persons had to enter a period of apprenticeship.
b) Apprentices had to work for their masters 40.5 hours per week.
c) Planters were expected to continue providing food, shelter, clothing, medical care and other allowances which apprentices were accustomed to during slavery.
d) Apprentices could not be sold and they could buy their freedom before apprenticeship came to an end.
e) Praedial (field) slaves were to serve six years apprenticeship and non-praedial (domestic) slaves to serve four years.
f) Planters would receive a sum of £20 million granted by British Parliament to compensate for the loss of their enslaved labour.
The clauses undoubtedly demonstrated that the planters benefited from the system, as they received monetary benefits and the continuous use of labour. The blacks were placed in a new system of forced labour described as apprenticeship.
THE AIMS OF THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM
The British Parliament suggested several reasons for introducing a system of apprenticeship. These included:
a) That it would serve as a period of peaceful transition from slavery to full freedom.
b) it was hoped that the system would guarantee planters an adequate supply of labour during the period.
c) That it would prevent the flight from the estate as what would have occurred if it was immediate freedom.
d) It would provide a process for apprentices to adjust to working for wages.
e) It would enable the colonial governments to revise the system of justice and establish institutions suitable for a free society.
THE ROLE OF STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES
Stipendiary magistrates (SM) were introduced in the British Caribbean to oversee the apprenticeship system. SMs were retired naval and army officers on half-pay, appointed from Britain, who were accustomed to rough conditions and enforcing discipline. This group was selected because they were not connected to the planter class and it was felt that they would be impartial. Their duties included, primarily: a) Supervising the apprenticeship system. b) Settling disputes between masters and apprentices.
c) Visiting estates at regular intervals and holding court. d) Inspecting jailhouses and workhouses. e) Assisting in fixing the value of apprentices who wanted to purchase their freedom.
Such duties were strenuous and led to the death of many SMs, who were not accustomed to tropical conditions and could not afford the high cost of medical treatment.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Salary – £300 for the first year, then increased to £450 for travel expenses and housing. There was no pension for dependents if the SM died in service. There was no sick leave and he had to pay his own fare back home if he was dismissed or invalided out of service. These bad working conditions prevented SMs from performing their duties satisfactorily and many were easily bribed by planters. They were also overburdened by work because they were so few in numbers. Those who tried to do their duties were sometimes persecuted. They were abused physically, verbally and in the press. They were all obstructed in the performance of their duties, as planters sometimes refused to allow them on the estates.
SUCCESSES OF THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES
a. They listened to complaints from both sides and acted as a buffer between masters and apprentices.
b. They informed apprentices of their rights; they did not have to listen to gossip or obtain information from newspapers.
c. They helped apprentices to organise their lives better by giving advice. However, they had very little to formulate schemes to improve the social conditions of the apprentices. They were unable to prevent apprentices from being punished harshly.
PUNISHMENTS
Apprentices were usually sent to the workhouse; however, SMs had no control over what happened there. The most common form of punishment in the workhouse was the treadmill. There was also the whipping post and apprentices could be put in penal gangs. Females often had their heads shaved. Time lost in the workhouse had to be repaid by the apprentice by working for his master during his free time.
CONTROLLING APPRENTICES ON THE ESTATES
a. Spreading the 40 hours per week over five days instead of four days.
b. Making it illegal for apprentices to leave the estate without written permission.
c. Cutting down apprentices’ fruit trees and forbidding apprentices to own livestock.
d. Charging high fees for the use of the markets and for licences to work off the estates as carpenters, blacksmiths, etc. These licences and tickets to sell in the markets could be withdrawn.
e. Finding fault with apprentices’ work which had to be done over in the apprentices’ free time.
f. Locking up apprentices on false charges and dropping the charges before the arrival of the SM.
The system of apprenticeship came to an end in 1838 due to the fact that: a) the system was not achieving its aims. b) the anti-slavery society exposed the abuses in the system and began to campaign for full freedom.
c) the planters feared violence if domestic apprentices were freed before field apprentices.
d) many planters believed that it was cheaper not to have to provide for apprentices and only to employ the number of labourers they needed.
Planters in various British Caribbean colonies noted that Antigua had moved to full freedom in 1834 and did not participate in the system of apprenticeship. They were able to maintain their labour supply on the estates. It is important to note, however, in the immediate postapprenticeship period, that the flight from the estate was intricately tied to the availability of land in the various colonies.