Women Slaves in Rum Distillation and Domestic Roles :: American History

Wo workforce Slaves in Rum Di silentation and Domestic RolesWomen break ones backs were also chartered in remarkable distillation and domestic roles. Much like mill-feeding, women basically ran the left over(p) distillation operations from cleaning machines to lifting and distilling. They were trusted more so than men to do this job because owners believed that women would be less likely to steal the rum and drink it themselves. However, a negative aspect of being employed in rum distillation is that owners would often substitute the alcohol for meat and early(a) nutritious and essential dietary components, which could only lead to worse stold ages of malnutrition. In imagines to domestic work, the elite slave and woodlet owners had a tendency to employ more domestics than they actually needed. This of course was not negative since domestic and kinsfolk work was regarded as being of a higher rank than expanse work and it was the only other position in which females had a j eopardize to escape the tedious, back-breaking work of the fields. Because the nature of this work was much lighter, those slaves who were given it were envied by those who had to work in the field or the sugar mills or rum distillation factories. Both males and females began work as servants from the young age of 7 or 8. Domestic occupations ranged from cook, servant, washerwoman, laundress, seamstress, nurse, midwife, and doctress. Cooks especially were held in high regard because food was such(prenominal) a powerful weapon on the plantation since it was so scarce and regulated. The females basically managed the household while men were set up to be cooks. Nurses and midwives were especially admired and coveted, even by the owner, because they were crucial to maintaining the slave population. Further, midwives were considered to increase the number of live births so they were highly regarded because this too change magnitude the slave population. Research by Rhoda Reddock (in Kl einberg, 1988) demonstrates that many of the female domestic tasks, such as cooks and servants, were actually performed by males. Furthermore, the number of females in the field still outnumbered the number in household tasks. Extending to the household this dominance of males in more prestigious positions continued where males were head servants and women were still relegated to lower ranks. Reddock examines the composition of the slave population in the British Caribbean and still, the same trend is seen where females outnumber males after(prenominal) 1825.