Costly Signaling, Risk Management, and Network Creation: Commodity Production and Exchange in the Historic Caribbean

Summary

During slavery, enslaved and freed Africans throughout the Caribbean engaged in commodity production and exchange for many different but complementary reasons. Slaves and freedman raised crops and animals and produced crafts that they traded as well as engaged in rented labor, both allowed them to barter for other goods and earn cash. For some, this exchange allowed them to survive the hardships of slavery and marginalization. Others were able to accumulate goods and cash that allowed them to express their wealth within the confines of slavery and being marginalized in society. Examples from slave contexts on the island of St. Kitts are examined and the different strategies used by enslaved Africans are discussed. The material remains suggest that a multifaceted approach was used by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean to survive slavery, express their identity, and signal their wealth or some other attribute.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage