What was an overseers job?
An overseer, also called a supervisor or a foreperson, performs a job title that entails providing instructions, guidance and orders to junior employees. Overseers typically supervise factory, construction and other manual labor workers.
What did slaves call overseers?
“Slaves under the overseers whip.” 1849. Image courtesy of LearnNC. Overseers is a term referring to employees of plantation owners before 1865 who served as general managers of routine farming operations.
What was the role of a plantation overseer quizlet?
Describe the role of planter and role of overseer. The planter was the owner of the plantation and usually very wealthy. The overseer was hired by the planter to oversee the slaves working in the fields.
How did overseers control slaves?
Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, beating, mutilation, branding, and/or imprisonment. Punishment was most often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but masters or overseers sometimes abused slaves to assert dominance.
Did slaves work in the rain?
Although slaves on the Eustatia Plantation often had to work through showers, on many days in the account book, the overseer notes that slaves did not work because of rain.
What skills did slaves have?
Skilled slaves arrived with knowledge of a wide range of traditional African crafts—pottery making, weaving, basketry, wood carving, metalworking, and building—that would prove valuable in the Americas, particularly during the preindustrial colonial period, when common household goods, such as thread, fabric, and soap.
Did most slaves work on plantations?
While most slaves were concentrated on the plantations, there were many slaves living in urban areas or working in rural industry.
What was the hardest job for slaves?
The first gang, or “great gang,” was given the hardest work, for the fittest slaves. The second gang was for less able slaves (teenagers, old people, or the unwell slaves) and this gang was given lighter work.
Did slaves wear uniforms?
Field slaves typically received the cheapest and most uniform allotment of clothing. Because of their demanding and active workloads, they wore fabrics known for durability and longevity, such as osnaburg, cotton, and “plains” (a coarse wool).