Seasoning Slaves

Definition

This was a period of adjustment that slave traders and owners believed African slaves needed to go through in the Americas. It involved breaking their will, teaching them basic English phrases, and acclimating them to the harsh realities of plantation life.

Analogy

Think of it like a brutal boot camp or an extremely harsh orientation program where new recruits are forced to adapt quickly to a new environment, language, and set of rules. However, unlike most orientations or boot camps which aim at improving individuals' skills or abilities for their benefit, this process was designed solely for the benefit of slave owners.

Related terms

Middle Passage: The stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were forcibly transported to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade.

Plantation Economy: An economy based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few staple products grown on large farms called plantations.

Slave Trade: The business or process of procuring, transporting, and selling slaves, especially black Africans to the New World prior to the mid-19th century.