Codrington Plantations

TheCodrington Plantationswere two historicsugarcaneproducing estates on the island ofBarbados, established in the 17th century byChristopher Codrington(c. 1640–1698) and his father of the same name. Sharing the characteristics of manyplantationsof the period in their exploitation ofslavery, their particular significance was as a part of a charitable bequest in 1710, on the death of the thirdChristopher Codrington(1668–1710), to theSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts(SPG).
The history of the plantations illustrates the 18th centuryChurch of England's dependence on the financial support of local landowners for its Christian missionary work in theWest Indies, and, until the growth ofAbolitionism, its institutional unwillingness to address issues relating to slavery.
The two estates named Codrington's and Consett's were located in the parish ofSt. Johnon the eastern side of Barbados and covered 763 acres (309 ha) of sugarcane planting. Codrington's will, first drawn up in 1702, also notes three windmills with associated sugar manufacturing facilities on the land, 315 indentured slaves and 100 head of cattle.
Upon the death of Christopher Codrington in 1710, the two estates were left to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to fund the establishment of college in Barbados stating his "Desire to have the Plantations Continued Entire and three hundred negros at Least always Kept there on, and a Convenient Number of Professors and Scholars maintain'd."Codrington directed that a portion of his charitable bequest be used to educate the enslaved population of Barbados, but this was a gesture effectively blocked by the objections of fellow planters.
Although the monastic aspect of the college was soon abandoned, the college was constructed over an extended period from 1714 to 1742. The college buildings today serve as aseminaryfor theChurch in the Province of the West Indies, an autonomous member province of the worldwideAnglican Communion.
Through his bequest Christopher Codrington was also a significant benefactor ofAll Souls College, Oxford, donating books worth £6,000, and £10,000 in funding for the construction of theCodrington Library.
The plantations were run by managers on behalf of the SPG, and their operational oversight was nominally supervised by a board of trustees of the society headed by theArchbishop of Canterburyand a committee ofChurch of Englandbishops. The plantations were reliant on regular supply of new slaves fromWest Africa; due to ill-health, smallpox, dysenteryand mistreatment, four out of every 10 slaves bought by the plantation in 1740 were reported to have died within three years.
Initially slaveswere brandedwith the word "Society" on their chests with a hot iron.Milton Meltzerexplains that the branding practice throughout the sugar plantations was that "Already branded once by the trader, the slaves were branded a second time with their new owner's initials." On branding at Codrington, Hochschild says"For nearly a decade, Codrington officials tried to reduce escapes by branding all slaves on their chests. In the end, though, the chief deterrent wasthe lash, plus, at times, an iron collar and astraitjacket." Branding, the policy of one overseer and not continuous official policy of the managers, ceased within a decade of the Church taking on ownership of the plantation.
It has been suggested that there was a deliberate "work to death" policy in operation, as was commonly the case on other plantations and inSouth America.On this question, Hochschild makes the point ... "in 1746 one third of Africans died within three years of arrival inWest Indies, from the ordeal of themiddle passage, and the shock of adjusting to the new life, foods, and diseases."There is no specific evidence that on the Codrington plantation harsh treatment of slaves by its managers was the cause of the high death rate.
Hochschild goes on to say, "At Codrington, as throughout theCaribbean, new slaves from Africa were first "seasoned" for three years, receiving extra food and light work assignments. Slaves were vulnerable during this early traumatic period when they were most likely to die of disease, to run away ... or to commit suicide. If you survived those three years, you were regarded as ready for the hardest labour." Hochschild provides further detail about the policies of the SPG's managers, saying that by 1826, "As a result of changes, the Church of England's Codrington plantation, for example, had improved food, housing, clothing, and working conditions, and built a small hospital for sick and pregnant slaves."
It was the situation in the West Indies and at the SPG's Codrington Plantations in particular, which promptedBeilby Porteus,Bishop of Chesterand laterBishop of London, to use the opportunity of preaching the 1783 anniversary sermon of the SPG atSt Mary-le-Bow,Cheapside,London, to issue a call to the Church of England to cease its involvement in theslave trade. It urged formulation of a policy to draw attention to and improve the conditions of theenslaved Africansin Barbados. At that time slaveholders also usedBiblicaljustifications for slavery.
The Church of England relinquished its slaveholdings only after theSlavery Abolition Act 1833. When the emancipation of slaves eventually took place, the government paid compensation under theSlave Compensation Act 1837to their owners. The SPG's Codrington Plantations received £8,823. 8s. 9d in compensation for 411 slaves.According to the accounts ofCodrington College, the compensation funds were paid into the treasury of the college. Although Codrington apparently bequeathed the plantation to SPG partly to provide education for slaves, when the college was opened in 1745 it was for white boys only, and it is not clear how much of its resources it dedicated to educating former slaves after emancipation.