How did the plantation owners control the enslaved people?
The plantation owners may have controlled the work and physical well being of enslaved people, but they could never control their minds. The enslaved people resisted at every opportunity and in many different ways – see the resistance section. There was always the constant threat of uprising and keeping those enslaved under control was a priority of all plantation owners. The laws created to control enslaved populations were severe and illustrated the tensions that existed. The laws passed by the Islands’ governing Assemblies are often referred to as the ‘Black Codes.’ Any enslaved person found guilty of committing or plotting serious offences, such as violence against the plantation owner or destruction of property, was put to death. Beatings and whippings were a common punishment, as well as the use of neck collars or leg irons for less serious offences, such as failure to work hard enough or insubordination, which covered many things. Thomas Clarkson described the life of an enslave
