Table Of Content.375” .873” .375”
3.5” 6.125” 6.125” 3.5”
HISTORY
In The Quarters and the Fields, Damian Pargas
P provides a unique approach to the examina-
a
tion of slavery. Rather than focusing on slave
r
g work and family life on cotton plantations, he
Damian Alan Pargas is assistant professor
a
of history and American studies at Utrecht s compares the practice of slavery among the other
University in the Netherlands. major agricultural cultures in the nineteenth-
century South: tobacco, mixed grain, rice, and
sugar cane.
T
In doing so, Pargas reveals how the demands
h of different types of masters and crops influ-
slave Families in the non-Cotton south
e enced work patterns and habits, which in turn
A volume in the series New Perspectives
Q shaped slaves’ family life. Demanding labor ar-
on the History of the South, edited by
rangements in Virginia forced slave mothers to
John David Smith u find childcare from white mistresses or elderly
a slaves. South Carolina slave owners’ focus on
r
task completion rather than gang labor led to
t
e enslaved field hands having more time to spend
r with their families and engage in work on their
s
own behalf. In Louisiana, the long brutal days
a of cane cultivation left slaves little time for
n family contact but provided them with unique
d opportunities to improve their families’ mate-
rial conditions.
t
h By presenting a broader view of the com-
e plex forces that shaped enslaved people’s fam-
ily lives, not only from outside but also from
Front cover: “Slaves Working on a Plantation.” “A fresh and inventive method of presenting some lesser-known aspects of slavery F
within, this book takes an inclusive approach
From Edmund Ollier, Cassell’s History of the United to both scholars and students.” i
to the slave agency debate. These families nego-
States, vol. 2, p. 493. London: Cassell, Petter and e
Galpin, 1874. —Ronald Traylor, Southeastern Louisiana University l tiated a variety of boundaries and opportuni-
d
ties, and, as Pargas reveals, the differences had
s
Back cover: Plantation slave quarters, Port Royal much more to do with local needs and customs
Island, South Carolina. Photograph, c. 1862. “Pargas redefines the meaning of ‘slave agency’ to examine the varying ability than with the institution of slavery itself. The
Courtesy of the Library of Congress. of enslaved workers to shape and protect their domestic arrangements.”
Quarters and the Fields offers a means for un-
derstanding slave families as they truly were:
—Larry Hudson, University of Rochester
dynamic social units that were formed and ex-
isted under different circumstances across time
and space.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3514-7
,!7IA8B3-adfbeh! University Press of Florida UPF
www.upf.com
Damian alan Pargas
The Quarters and the Fields
New Perspectives on the History of the South
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
The Quarters
and the Fields
Slave Families in the Non-Cotton South
Damian Alan Pargas
University Press of Florida
Gainesville . Tallahassee . Tampa . Boca Raton
Pensacola . Orlando . Miami . Jacksonville . Ft. Myers . Sarasota
Copyright 2010 by Damian Alan Pargas
Printed in the United States of America.
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pargas, Damian Alan.
The quarters and the fields : slave families in the non-cotton South / Damian Alan Pargas.
p. cm.—(New perspectives on the history of the South)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3514-7 (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8130-3658-8 (e-book)
1. Slaves—Family relationships—Southern States. 2. Slaves—Southern States—
Social conditions. 3. Plantation life—Southern States—History. 4. Slavery—Southern
States—History. 5. African American families—Southern States—Social conditions—
History. 6. Agriculture—Social aspects—Southern States—History. 7. Geography—Social
aspects—Southern States—History. 8. Southern States—Social conditions.
I. Title. E443.P37 2010
975.'041—dc22 2010017081
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University,
Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University,
New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of
North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
Contents
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgments ix
Part I. Rethinking the Experiences of Slave Families
Introduction: Agency, Diversity, and Slave Families 3
1. Three Slave Societies of the Non-Cotton South 13
Part II. The Balancing Act: Work and Families
2. The Nature of Agricultural Labor 39
3. Family Contact during Working Hours 63
4. Family-Based Internal Economies 88
Part III. Social Landscapes: Family Structure
and Stability
5. Slaveholding across Time and Space 117
6. Marriage Strategies and Family Formation 142
7. Forced Separation 171
Part IV. Conclusions
8. Weathering Different Storms 203
Notes 207
Bibliography 235
Index 249
Tables
Table 1.1. Selected Agricultural Production in Fairfax County, 1850
and 1860 18
Table 1.2. Population of Fairfax County, Virginia, 1800–1860 20
Table 1.3. Rice Production in Georgetown District, South Carolina and
the United States, 1840–1860 26
Table 1.4. Population of Georgetown District, South Carolina,
1800–1860 27
Table 1.5. Population of St. James Parish, Louisiana, 1810–1860 35
Table 1.6. Annual Sugar Production (in hogsheads) in St. James Parish
and Louisiana, 1849–1860 35
Table 5.1. Distribution of the Fairfax County Slave Population by
Slaveholding Size, 1810–1860 118
Table 5.2. Distribution of the Georgetown District Slave Population by
Slaveholding Size, 1800–1860 124
Table 5.3. Distribution of the St. James Parish Slave Population by
Slaveholding Size, 1810–1860 130
Acknowledgments
Researching and writing this book took me, all told, about five years. Along
the way—as I developed a vague idea about American slave families and
turned it into a book—I was fortunate enough to have ample support from
family, colleagues, friends, and institutions. Without their help this book
would never have gotten off the ground.
I extend my thanks first and foremost to my family members in all three
geographic clusters of the Atlantic world. My family in the United States—
Fernando Pargas, Denise and Charlie Errico, Gabriel Pargas, Alexandra
Pargas, Elizabeth (Nanny) McDermid—provided me with invaluable ad-
vice, encouragement, and luxurious accommodation during my research
trips to northern Virginia and Washington. My family in Uruguay—Héctor
and Ester (Tata & Abuelita) Pargas, Diana Pargas, Mariana Gesto, Daniela
Gesto, Néstor Pargas, and little Lucia Pargas—has always been a lasting
source of emotional support and generously provided me with a sunny and
beautiful destination for several much-needed vacations. Finally, my family
in the Netherlands—Peter Bos, Janny Bos, Maya Bos, and Marloes Bos—
provided me with encouragement and support, without which I would
have been unfit to perform my duties.
At Leiden University Chris Quispel and Piet Emmer in particular be-
lieved in me and in my ideas long before I did. Both offered invaluable
advice. For their support and wisdom I am infinitely grateful. My other col-
leagues at Leiden University also provided me with feedback, advice, coffee,
and every now and again a free lunch, especially Filipa Ribeiro da Silva,
Chris Nierstrasz, Jessica Roitman, Cátia Antunes, Hans Wilbrink, Jorrit van
den Berk, Andreas Weber, Alicia Schrikker, Job Weststrate, Marijke Wis-
sen-van Standen, Leonard Blussé, Henk Kern, Joost Augusteijn, Leo Lucas-
sen, Peter Meel, Gert Oostindie, Eduard van der Bilt, and Adam Fairclough.
