Esteban Montejo
Chris Calnan
2/20/15
Discussion #3
Esteban Montejo
The lifestyle of a slave in Cuba during the period of independence seemed pretty horrible as Montejo explained but the slaves managed to find ways to get through it. Where they lived seemed like the harshest part, which were the barracoons. The barracoons were crammed and locked up by a padlock during the night. Montejo describes them as very hot and unsanitary. Since it was hot, Montejo claims that the place swarmed with fleas and ticks that gave the entire work force infections and diseases.” They were put in disgusting living quarters. Montejo explains to us that they would bathe themselves in a stream, which was nice because there was one near every plantation. He tells us that the slaves themselves would cut their own hair with a long knife provided to them by their masters. He claims he became the master of cutting hair and described their heads as looking like “melon skins.” When they would brush their teeth they would use soap-tree bark and Montejo said that it made their teeth very white. These slaves did a great job of maintaining their social and cultural traditions, every Sunday they woke up and there would be drumming that started around twelve of one o’clock. While this didn’t entirely give them a sense of more freedom, Montejo explains that it made their day on the plantation a lot easier because everyone was joyful and upbeat about the drums being played. They played these instruments they made throughout the day and that gave them a little piece of their culture back to them. The Spanish Crown put limits on how much they were punished, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t. One of the cruel ways the plantation owners would punish them would be by betting on the “Maní” dances that the slaves would perform and that would essentially turn into a one on one fight. Sometimes, the masters would force the slaves to fight those until the death, which is horrifying. The differences between the lifestyles of
2/20/15
Discussion #3
Esteban Montejo
The lifestyle of a slave in Cuba during the period of independence seemed pretty horrible as Montejo explained but the slaves managed to find ways to get through it. Where they lived seemed like the harshest part, which were the barracoons. The barracoons were crammed and locked up by a padlock during the night. Montejo describes them as very hot and unsanitary. Since it was hot, Montejo claims that the place swarmed with fleas and ticks that gave the entire work force infections and diseases.” They were put in disgusting living quarters. Montejo explains to us that they would bathe themselves in a stream, which was nice because there was one near every plantation. He tells us that the slaves themselves would cut their own hair with a long knife provided to them by their masters. He claims he became the master of cutting hair and described their heads as looking like “melon skins.” When they would brush their teeth they would use soap-tree bark and Montejo said that it made their teeth very white. These slaves did a great job of maintaining their social and cultural traditions, every Sunday they woke up and there would be drumming that started around twelve of one o’clock. While this didn’t entirely give them a sense of more freedom, Montejo explains that it made their day on the plantation a lot easier because everyone was joyful and upbeat about the drums being played. They played these instruments they made throughout the day and that gave them a little piece of their culture back to them. The Spanish Crown put limits on how much they were punished, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t. One of the cruel ways the plantation owners would punish them would be by betting on the “Maní” dances that the slaves would perform and that would essentially turn into a one on one fight. Sometimes, the masters would force the slaves to fight those until the death, which is horrifying. The differences between the lifestyles of