Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire: Thomas Thistlewood and His Slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican World

335 Pages·2004·2.75 MB·English

by  Trevor Burnard

Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire

Mastery,
Tyranny,
and Desire
Thomas Thistlewood
and His Slaves in the
Anglo-Jamaican World
Trevor Burnard
The University ofNorth Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
© 2004 The University ofNorth Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
Designed by April Leidig-Higgins
Set in Ehrhardt by Copperline Book Services,Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability ofthe Committee on Production Guidelines
for Book Longevity ofthe Council on Library Resources.
Parts ofthis book have been reprinted with permission in re-
vised form from “The Sexual Life ofan Eighteenth-Century
Jamaican Overseer,”in Merril D.Smith,ed.,Sex and Sexu-
ality in Early America(New York:New York University
Press,1999),163–89.
Frontispiece:Thomas Thistlewood to Edward Long,17 June
1777,Long Papers,Add.mss18275a,f.126,British Library.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burnard,Trevor.
Mastery,tyranny,and desire:Thomas Thistlewood and his
slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican world / Trevor Burnard.
p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-8078-2856-4 (cloth:alk.paper)
isbn0-8078-5525-1 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Thistlewood,Thomas,1721–1786. 2.Slaveholders—
Jamaica—Biography. 3.Plantation owners—Jamaica—
Biography. 4.Plantation life—Jamaica—History—18th
century. 5.Slaves—Jamaica—Social conditions—19th
century. 6.Jamaica—Race relations. I.Title.
ht1096.b86 2004
306.3'62'097292—dc22 2003022319
cloth 08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1
paper 08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
The Gray Zone:An Introduction to
1
Thomas Thistlewood and His Diaries 1
Mastery and Competency:
2
Thistlewood Earns a Living 37
Cowskin Heroes:
3
Thistlewood,Slavery,and White Egalitarianism 69
In the Scientific Manner:
4
Thistlewood and the Practical Enlightenment
in a Slavery Regime 101
Weapons ofthe Strong and Responses ofthe Weak:
5
Thistlewood’s War with His Slaves 137
Cooperation and Contestation,Intimacy and Distance:
6
Thistlewood and His Male Slaves 175
Adaptation,Accommodation,and Resistance:
7
Thistlewood’s Slave Women and Their
Responses to Enslavement 209
The Life and Times ofThomas Thistlewood,Esquire—
8
Gardener and Slave Owner 241
Notes 273
Index 313
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Illustra†ions and Tables
Illustrations
Vineyard Pen 4
Egypt estate and Breadnut Island Pen 11
Detail from Map of the County of Surrey 14
Title page,Thomas Jefferys,West Indian Atlas 42
Thomas Thistlewood to Edward Long,17 June 1777 122
“Thomas Thistlewood’s Meteorological Observations” 123
A Surinam Planter in His Morning Dress 147
View of Fort William Estate 182
View of Roaring River Estate 183
View of Bridge over Cabaritta River 184
Detail from Map of the County of Cornwall 215
Jamaican Negroes Cutting Cane in Their Working Dresses 254
Tables
1.1 Population in Jamaica,1662–1788 16
2.1 Summary ofThistlewood’s Personal Estate,1756–1764,1766–1786 60
2.2 Composition ofThistlewood’s Income,1767–1786 61
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Acknowledgments
I never intended to write a book on the life and diaries ofThomas Thistlewood.
As an early Americanist with an interest in the history ofthe West Indies in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,I had been aware of the importance of
Thomas Thistlewood’s diaries as a source for Jamaican history and the history
of slavery in the Americas since reading Douglas Hall’s pathbreaking com-
pendium ofthe diaries,published in 1988.My first thought was that these di-
aries would be a marvelous resource for teaching,and I applied to my depart-
ment at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand for funds to purchase
microfilm copies ofthe diaries for use in my honors course on slavery in British
America and the United States.In their essays written over several years in the
early 1990s,my students proved that the diaries were a treasure trove ofinfor-
mation not only about slavery but also about white society in mid-eighteenth-
century Jamaica,a special research interest ofmine.Their essays convinced me
to have the diaries transcribed,with the crucial assistance oftwo masters’stu-
dents,Michael Peck and Karen Rule,to whom I owe a big vote ofthanks.They
also convinced me that a book was waiting to be written about the fascinating
life and times ofMr.Thistlewood.We academics often claim that we need fund-
ing to do research so we can use the fruits ofour research in our teaching;here
is an example ofhow investment in teaching led to the development ofresearch
that otherwise might not have been contemplated.The two activities—research
and teaching—are symbiotically linked,as everyone save government repre-
sentatives seems to realize.
I would not have been able to develop this research into a book without ob-
taining permission to use the diaries for these purposes.I am extremely grate-
ful to Lord and Lady Monson for granting me permission to purchase micro-
film copies ofthe diaries and to use them as a basis for this book.The diaries are
held at Lincolnshire County Archives,and I am grateful to the Lincolnshire