What are planters in history?
A “planter” was generally a farmer who owned many slaves. Planters are often spoken of as belonging to the planter elite or planter aristocracy in the antebellum South.
Who were the planter aristocracy?
Historians Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman define the planter aristocracy as the large-scale planters in the South who owned over 50 slaves (with medium planters owning between 16 and 50 slaves).
What did House slaves eat?
Maize, rice, peanuts, yams and dried beans were found as important staples of slaves on some plantations in West Africa before and after European contact. Keeping the traditional “stew” cooking could have been a form of subtle resistance to the owner’s control.
How did Planters gain so much wealth and power?
As cotton production increased, new wealth flowed to the cotton planters. As cotton production increased, new wealth flowed to the cotton planters. These planters became the staunchest defenders of slavery, and as their wealth grew, they gained considerable political power.
What was the living conditions for slaves?
Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease. Illnesses were generally not treated adequately, and slaves were often forced to work even when sick. The rice plantations were the most deadly.
What did house slaves do?
A house slave was a slave who worked, and often lived, in the house of the slave-owner, performing domestic labor. House slaves had many duties such as cooking, cleaning, serving meals, and caring for children.
How many slaves did Planters own?
20
Why did planters become slaves?
To replenish its labor force, planters in the Chesapeake region increasingly turned to enslaved Africans.
What were living conditions like for most slaves?
Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown six days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat. Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst.
What was the significance of the planter class in antebellum Southern society?
During the antebellum years, wealthy southern planters formed an elite master class that wielded most of the economic and political power of the region. They created their own standards of gentility and honor, defining ideals of southern white manhood and womanhood and shaping the culture of the South.