Topic 4 – Products of slave labour

In the British Caribbean the main crops grown for export by enslaved labourers were sugar, cocoa, tobacco and coffee. Other crops included indigo (a natural blue dye), limes, and the spices ginger, nutmeg and pimento (also called Jamaican pepper or all-spice).

Caribbean planters also exported large amounts of rum, an alcoholic drink that was made with the leftovers from sugar refining.

Things to do

In the resources there are some objects (4A), photographs (4B) and advertisements (4C) illustrating three crops grown by slaves in the Caribbean: sugar, cocoa and tobacco.
The photographs and advertisements date from after slavery ended, but they help to show how the crops were grown and consumed during the slavery era.

If you are using the handling box, begin by matching up the objects related to each crop with the photographs and advertisements for that crop. Handle the objects carefully, as some of them are fragile. Then answer the following questions.
If you were buying sugar in the 18th century what things would you have used it for? (Tip. Think about drinks that might have been common then. Also note that before canning and refrigeration were invented, sugar was a major preserving agent.)
Look at the twist of tobacco leaves. This type of chewing tobacco was popular with sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries. Miners used chewing tobacco too. Can you think why these workers chewed tobacco rather than smoked it?
Examine the photographs of workers growing and harvesting the crops. These were the descendants of slaves and worked in similar conditions to them. From what you can see in the photographs, write a list of the dangers you think they might have faced in their work.
Study the Cadbury’s Cocoa advertisement, which dates from 1889. Write a list of the words and phrases the caption uses to describe the cocoa. Now write a short description of the advertisement’s ‘message’ – the main points the advertisement wants to get across to people who see it. How is this different to the way cocoa and chocolate are marketed today?
The cigarette advertisement dates from 1937. Write a list of words you think the cigarette company wanted people to associate with its product – for example: wealthy, romantic. Now write one or two sentences summing up the image the advertisement was promoting for smokers. How is this different to the way we view cigarette smoking today?
In the 1780s, anti-slavery campaigners called upon British consumers to stop buying sugar grown by slaves. Can you name any products or goods today that you think we should not buy because of how they are grown or made? Do you think this is an effective form of protest?

Tip. You can find more information on sugar, tobacco, cocoa and other plants connected with slavery at the Natural History Museum’s Seeds of Trade www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/nature-online/seeds-of-trade/index.dsml website.