Eighteenth-century Jamaica; Britain's largest and most valuable slave-owning colony; relied on a brutal system of slave management to maintain its tenuous social order. Trevor Burnard provides unparalleled insight into Jamaica's vibrant but harsh African and European cultures with a comprehensive examination of the extraordinary diary of plantation owner Thomas Thistlewood.Thistlewood's diary; kept over the course of forty years; describes in graphic detail how white rule over slaves was predicated on the infliction of terror on the bodies and minds of slaves. Thistlewood treated his slaves cruelly even while he relied on them for his livelihood. Along with careful notes on sugar production; Thistlewood maintained detailed records of a sexual life that fully expressed the society's rampant sexual exploitation of slaves. In Burnard's hands; Thistlewood's diary reveals a great deal not only about the man and his slaves but also about the structure and enforcement of power; changing understandings of human rights and freedom; and connections among social class; race; and gender; as well as sex and sexuality; in the plantation system.
#612836 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 1999-02-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.06 x 6.13l; 1.44 #File Name: 0807848190420 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An overview and interesting fact-filled take on period and state specific slaveryBy Sherri L. MillerWhile this book offers an objective; historical look at slavery; it is useful primarily only to those wanting to study slavery in this specific American state and twenty-seven year time period. While I enjoyed this book from a historical perspective as a guide for creative writing; it would've been much more useful to me and most other readers if it covered a longer time period and a larger region; such as the entire 17th; 18th; and/or 19th centuries for the states of VA; NC; SC; and GA; or if a series for this extended time period with each state as a separate book were available. As it is; the book is a valuable historical asset for those that want to learn about all aspects of slavery from 1748-1775 in the state of North Carolina.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Ms.DI cannot wait to read this.13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Good SynthesisBy Gregory S. King-owenThis is primarily a book for historians. Although the book has its moments; it mostly focuses on the historiography of slavery in North Carolina during the period from 1748 to 1775. The authors discuss the origins of North Carolina slaves; treatment of slaves; slave naming practices; slave culture; and the ideology of slavery as North Carolina approached the American Revolution. A fault of the book is that the analysis stops mostly at 1775; cutting off the picture of how the American Revolution transformed the slave institutions of the state. The book is well written; anyone who needs information on the nature and character of slavery during the period will find this to be an authoritative source. Most armchair historians will probably be disappointed that this study is not a narrative; yet; there are many wonderful insights on the nature of slavery in North Carolina for the interested reader.
