THE MANOR
The manor, the primary residence of a slave owner and his family, was a sprawling mansion sitting a great distance from the road, with one main pathway leading to its door. The well-manicured lawn, often surrounded by flower gardens and fruitful trees, highlighted the beauty of the mansion. Almost always a two-story home, with formal living spaces downstairs and bedrooms upstairs, was built by a combination of free and enslaved workers. The interior boasted high ceilings, spacious rooms, decorated with lavish period furnishings. Towards the back of the mansion, were the kitchen, laundry, and the house slave quarters. A few slaves worked solely and lived in the mansion, to cook, clean, and care for the plantation owner's children on a twenty-four hour basis. According to Potts, (n.d.), the mistress of the manor was a gracious hostess to her many guests and was responsible for the overseeing of the domestic duties of the home, because the master spent most of his time away from the home.
SLAVE QUARTERS
A few hundred yards away from the manor, was the slave quarters. The quarters were close enough to provide easy access to the fields and the manor, but well hidden from the road as not to subtract from the beauty of the manor and to provide the family with some privacy. Some slaves were given materials to build their own accommodations, while others inherited cabins already in existence. Slaves often patterned their homes after their homes in Africa. According to Shah (n.d.), the quarters, situated in a row, some only twelve square feet, would house up to two or more families. The wood-framed cabin’s roves were made out of thatch or tin. Some cabins had dirt floors, no beds, and no windows, but later emphasis was placed on elevated some structures to make them waterproof. Slaves worked from dusk to dawn, leaving little time for family life, except after dusk, Saturday afternoons and Sundays. According to Roarke, et.al. (2009), the small yards in front of the cabins, on the weekend, became a meeting place for recreational activities.
No comments:
Post a Comment