The World of Maria the Slave

By Brindley Beckwith

Maria was a female slave convicted of murder and sentenced to death, she was later commuted to transportation in 1826. Although, regarding history, her story is familiar to some, it is more important to understand the background of slavery in Belize and the way of life for people like Maria. The main reason that slavery became a big part of Belize was because of the logging economy. This started in the 18^th Century and went on up until the late 19^th Century.

Slavery in Belize was very different from other parts of the world, even the Caribbean because the slaves in Belize were used mostly for logging, instead of sugar production and work on plantations.[1] This meant that slaves in Belize worked in scattered gangs in the forests, separated from their families in Belize City. The interesting thing about Maria's life is that because slavery was so distinctive in Belize, the roles of males and females were entirely different.

As described by Bolland[2], Maria would have been left behind in Belize city to live with a family, her role could be a variety of these mentioned washerwomen, housemaids, servants, chambermaids, cooks, seamstresses, nurses, or bakers. Women were more subject to violence and punishment by their owner because they were always around and vulnerable to abuse without their men around. While Maria would be taking care of the domestic work and being under close watch of her master, the men would most likely be out in the forests.

Bolland[3] mentions how the experience of slaves in Belize was different from others because their role was timber extraction. This meant a continual shifting of location, smaller groups of men working with each other, and the masters treated them very differently. They did not need to supervise as much because of the smaller groups and he had less authority and no need to use much coercive power, which is a drastic difference to the role of masters in a plantation setting.

Because slaves had some control and power in numbers they became fairly confident at times and did stage numerous revolts. Bolland mentions that slaves would go as far abortion, suicide, murder, desertion, and revolt to escape from slavery. Maria was one of those, she just wanted to be free and felt like there were no other options.

This is an example of logging in the 1800s. It is a long, hard process with a lot of different jobs. This picture shows the axe men’s job, which is to cut down the trees. This job was not easy and fairly dangerous and the axe used was heavy. The axe men stood on a springy platform a "barbecue" about 12 or 15 feet high. 

This image shows slaves being auctioned off upon arrival in Belize City. The majority of them came from Africa, but there was also a mix from West Indies and others that came through Jamaica. Especially in Belize, when working in the timber industries families were split up. Women and Children would go with families to do domestic work, while Men would be grouped with a few others to work primarily on logging, with occasional agriculture work.

[1] O. Nigel Bolland, Assad Shoman, “Land in Belize 1765-1871” The Foundation of Settlement, ch.1,p. 25-27

[2]  O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century, Ch.2, p.44-45

[3] O. Nigel Bolland, “Slavery without Sugar” Diversity in Caribbean Economy and Society Since the 17^th Century,Ch.2, p.36,39