Justin Roberts

Uncertain Business: A Case Study of Barbadian Plantation Management, 1770–93

This article is a detailed case study of the financial records of a Barbadian sugar plantation, Turners Hall, from 1770 to 1793. It explores the challenges faced by the managers and the strategies they adopted. The most significant internal challenge was the maintenance of a sufficient labour force and the two greatest external challenges were the American Revolution and the hurricane of 1780. Sugar production was an uncertain and volatile business, especially in this era, but the potential for high returns, even during the war, offset these risks and planters could adapt quickly to the changing business environment.

The ‘Better Sort’ and the ‘Poorer Sort’: Wealth Inequalities, Family Formation and the Economy of Energy on British Caribbean Sugar Plantations, 1750–1800

This article examines wealth inequalities and social hierarchies that appeared among slave communities on sugar plantations in the British Caribbean. These inequalities in status and in material conditions among the enslaved were the product of the privileges that planters granted elite slaves, the collective survival strategies of smaller family groups and the energy demands of different working roles. Elite creole families emerged on sugar plantations and these slaves lived more privileged lives than the rest. African-born slaves and women were particularly disadvantaged. Inequalities in status and material conditions could create oppressive and discordant community dynamics within the slave community.