Life on a Plantation

By Megan & Lauren

A Day in the Life of a Slave
Time Activity
5:30am Go to the fields
The slaves would work in all
8:00- They would go eat Breakfast. If they were late they
8:15am would be whipped weathers. It was never too cold
8:15- They would be working in the fields or too hot.
12:00pm Their masters would be
12:00- They would have lunch and rest incredibly strict and their motto
2:00pm would be work, work, work.
2:00-6:00 They would go back to work
6:00pm- They would either sleep or if it was harvest season
5:30am they would work during the night
Entertainment
Since they couldn’t entertain themselves with the things they did back
in Africa, they tried something new… story telling!
The elder ones would tell stories to the younger ones. Then when the
younger ones were older, they would tell the younger ones.
Conditions
• On arrival, the Africans were prepared for sale like animals. They were
washed and shaved, sometimes their skins were oiled to make them
appear healthy and increase their sale price.
• It was a life of endless labour for slaves. They worked up to 18hours a
day sometimes longer! This would happen at busy periods such as
harvest. There were no weekends or rest days. It was endless work.
• Individuals were allocated jobs according to gender, age, colour
strength and birthplace.
Housing Conditions
• Most houses for slaves were simple wooden huts with basic
furniture inside. Slave quarters would often be cramped and
unpleasant.
• Families usually had their own rooms but they would share
fireplaces and kitchens with others.
• Most plantation owners tried to house slaves away from the
main plantations house where they lived as they wanted
them close to the fields were they work.
These are some of the houses slaves lived in
Positives of the Plantation
• They would entertain each other by telling stories
• They would sometimes be kept with their families-if they
behaved themselves
• It taught to remain faithful with their religion

(Yes, there aren’t many positives but they did try to remain
positive!)
Negatives of the Plantation
• A lot of the time slaves would try to run away but they’d get
caught; they were extremely unlucky. When caught they
would face severe punishments such as :
Whipping, beating, burning, mutilation, shackling, hanging
and imprisonment.
• The worst thing that could happen to slaves was being
separated from their tribe or family. This would also be a
punishment if you disobeyed
Extra information: Free Time
• Slaves loved making music. They danced and sang at
ceremonies and festivals, they sang working songs in the
fields and special songs to greet new masters.
• In free time, slaves would also mend their huts, make pots
and pans or sleep although it was very rare for them to have
more than an hour of free time
Extra information: Other
• Slaves could get married, at any age
• Women would have their first child by thirteen
• Masters would encourage women to have children. Masters
promised the women that after they had had their fifteenth
child, they would be free to go.
• Since 1986, December 2 has been the United Nations’
International Day For The Abolition of Slavery - meaning it’s a day
to celebrate and remember the end of slavery!
• The average cost of a slave in America in 1850 was about $400
(about $12,000 in today’s money)