Britisch- und Dänisch-Westindien nach der Sklaverei

Abstract

British and Danish West Indies after Slavery.

The article is focussing the major problems of adjustments to emancipation in the British and Danish West Indies. The first chapter stresses the antagonistic conflict between planters and freed slaves over land and labour in terms of „reconstituted peasantry“ (Mintz) versus plantations. The fight over economic resources and new (economic) measures of labour control are major topics of chapter 2. Especially the refusal of women to do field work on the plantations is highlighted. The trend towards racist interpretations of work attitudes is reflected in contemporary Governor‘s reports. The ideological aspects of abolition and the impact of Christian churches to establish a new moral and cultural order is the crucial theme of chapter 3. Especially the ambivalent and controversial attitude of the Moravian Church and its missionaries is been critically discussed. Chapter 4 outlines the economic future of the sugar industry after slavery. The long term development of the rural population and its specific class structure (peasant/labourers) is analysed in chapter 5. The different patterns of adjustments to emancipation in the British and Danish West Indies are summarised in the conclusion.