Economic Role of African American Women on the Plantation

The role that was played by Black women on American Plantations between the 17th and 19th century was a good deal different than that of the men. In a lot of regards, it was like being in a whole different world. The women had to, in many cases, share their workload with the white mistresses and servant girls on the plantation, which allowed them to forge bonds with their fellow workers that transcended race.

Slave women who worked in the fields or in the plantation homes were more than often segregated by sex. These women, due to the fluidity of their jobs, often had to move in and out of the plantation homes, coming into direct contact with the mistress and other servants on a very regular basis. This allowed them to act as go-betweens, often citing grievances suffered under the hands of male overseers to the mistresses, who could alleviate their harsh conditions.

Slave women spent a good deal of time working indoors, too. Some worked to mend and make fabrics and clothing. Others helped within the kitchen and around the home, cleaning and picking up after the plantation owners and their offspring. Black women were often shifted in and out of indoor jobs and field jobs as both punishment and reward for winning or losing favor from the plantation owners.

The close-knit relationship that black women on plantations had with the white women created a unique situation. It allowed white women to see what slavery was from the perspective of the subjugated, and in many led to the slaves gaining support from the white women. Some white women of plantation homes even began to resent slavery, for it proposed an interesting fact. White women had to accept their inferiority for being female, but superiority for being white.

Many African slave women brought with them skills from their former lives in Africa, as well. Some of these skill sets, such as the cultivation of massive rice fields, proved to be invaluable resources. If not for these Africans, the rice fields of Louisiana and South Carolina might never have existed. The knowledge of producing rice as a crop was completely foreign to Westerners, and was something that they simply hadn't even considered attempting to produce.

It was also in the hearts and minds of African women to keep alive as much of their homelands culture and tradition as possible. Worship, music, and song were passed down verbally and taught to their children whenever possible. Even by the 19^th century, the new culture that was African American culture had deep roots in traditional African culture, that was successfully kept alive by the women of the plantation.