Intercultural relations and the identities they fashioned profoundly influenced the development of Creole society in the West Indies. In the case of the Lascelles archive, however, few documents survive describing interracial relationships in detail. The sources that remain are dominated by two types of interaction: instances of resistance by the enslaved and sexual relationships between slave women and white attorneys or overseers. Despite the undoubted importance of these two themes, it is evident that the social life of the plantation consisted of far more than resistance and interracial sex. Very little information, for example, exists describing such basic activities as the pattern of daily work allocations on the Lascelles' estates, or the methods used to discipline plantation labourers. Insights into slave culture (such as songs, dances, and courtship rituals) are similarly almost entirely absent from the historical record. In consequence of these and other omissions, the scope of the conclusions that can be drawn in this chapter are limited. Nevertheless, despite its limitations, the material is of considerable interest.

Resistance and Cooperation

Resistance by the enslaved probably formed an endemic feature of chattel slavery during the two centuries the institution endured in the British West Indies. Rebellion, running away, and acts of passive disobedience were three ways in which the enslaved challenged their condition; each type of resistance occurred on estates owned by the Lascelles or their associates.