On board the ships, slaves were handcuffed and their legs were shackled. They were chained together in groups of about fifty, crammed close together, forced to lie on their sides and often in their own waste. For meals, they were given a stew that contained horsebeans, boiled yams, and scraps of meat.
Enslaved Africans also brought watermelon, okra, yams, black-eyed peas and some peppers. These foods are commonly eaten in the U.S. today. They show how Africans forced into slavery -- beginning in the 1500s -- influenced the American diet.
In truth, rations consisted of a monthly allowance of a bushel of third-rate corn, pickled pork (which was "often tainted") and "poorest quality herrings" – barely enough to sustain grown men and women through their backbreaking labors in the field. Not all the enslaved, however, were so ill-fed.
They created favorites like gumbo, an adaptation of a traditional West African stew; and jambalaya, a cousin of Jolof rice, a spicy, heavily seasoned rice dish with vegetables and meat. These dishes traveled with captured West Africans on slave ships, and into the kitchens of Virginia's elite.
The typical slave-ship diet included rice, farina, yams, and horse beans. Occasionally, bran was included. Some slavers offered their slaves the so-called “African meal” once per day, followed by a “European meal” in the evening, which consisted of horse beans boiled to a pulp.
At "best", the enslavers fed enslaved people beans, corn, yams, rice, and palm oil. However, enslaved African people were not always fed every day. If there was not enough food for the sailors (human traffickers) and the slaves, the enslavers would eat first, and the enslaved might not get any food.
Dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, fried fish, dishes made with greens and pork, BBQ, and one of my favorites, hog jowls and black-eyed peas. The Africans of the 17th century would plant and eat watermelon, okra, yams, black eyed peas and some hot peppers, which was part of the food culture grown in Africa.
Faunal remains in excavations have confirmed that livestock such as pigs and cows were the principal components of slaves' meat diets. Other sites show remnants of wild species such as opossum, raccoon, snapping turtle, deer, squirrel, duck, and rabbit.
Weekly food rations -- usually corn meal, lard, some meat, molasses, peas, greens, and flour -- were distributed every Saturday. Vegetable patches or gardens, if permitted by the owner, supplied fresh produce to add to the rations. Morning meals were prepared and consumed at daybreak in the slaves' cabins.
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays, slaves engaged in singing and dancing. Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of "patting juba" or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion.
During the week, if there was a dessert, it would be a piece of corn bread with some molasses poured on top or some fruit. In addition, slave cabins rarely had the cooking equipment or appliances necessary to adequately bake a pie.
Corn: The Versatile Food
Washington recounts in his Slave Diet Bulletin, a common breakfast was cornbread and pork. On days when that wasn't available, he'd head to the animal shed. There, he'd steal some of boiled Indian corn kernels used to feed the cows and pigs.
During the winter, slaves toiled for around eight hours each day, while in the summer the workday might have been as long as fourteen hours.
Historically, chickens held special importance for enslaved black Americans, being the only livestock they were allowed to keep. Black domestic workers would cook fried chicken for their masters and, later, their employers.
For the most part, they were housed in the same lodgings as their owners, usually in an attic or back room.
Before slavery, in West Africa, our diet consisted heavily of plant-based foods such as ground provisions, fruits and greens. Meat was either not on the menu or eaten occasionally in smaller portions as a stew. They also consumed no dairy products.
Basic garment of female slaves consisted of a one-piece frock or slip of coarse "Negro Cloth." Cotton dresses, sunbonnets, and undergarments were made from handwoven cloth for summer and winter. Annual clothing distributions included brogan shoes, palmetto hats, turbans, and handkerchiefs.
Enslaved people hunted, fished, and trapped wild animals to supplement their diets and to sell. Animal bones, excavated from the cellar of the House for Families slave quarter, reveal many different species, including deer, opossum, and turkeys. Some enslaved men had access to guns for hunting.
In his 1845 Narrative, Douglass wrote that slaves celebrated the winter holidays by engaging in activities such as "playing ball, wrestling, running foot-races, fiddling, dancing, and drinking whiskey" (p. 75).
One might also sit on a stool or chair for the sponge bath, or use the tub as a medicinal foot bath. If used by an enslaved woman, it may have been used outdoors or in the kitchen. In some households she might have been allowed to bathe in her room.
What does Potato Hole mean? The term comes from slavery, when slaves had to dig holes in the earthen floors of their cabins. It was the only place they had to keep food cool — and, in some cases, to hide it and store it. For us, Potato Hole is a place where you can find and honor the treasures of the black community.
The core staples for slaves were low-quality bread and cheap wine, but was also supplemented by average fruits and vegetables, as well as soups, stews, and other hot meals.
Traditional African American comfort foods include homemade macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, red beans and rice, cornbread, seasoned greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, and ice-cold sweet tea. Although many of these foods are not considered the healthy choices, they excite our taste buds and warm our hearts.
But back in the 1930s, inexpensive parcels of meat such as beef necks or pork liver would have been part of the frugal fare for African-Americans, especially in Chicago with its many stockyards. And, oh yes, there was chicken - as in chicken feet, he said. Both beans and greens of various descriptions were popular.
Jambalaya (mixed rice, meat and vegetables), feijoada (black beans and meat), gombo(okra), and hopping johns (peas) are all dishes that have been re-adapted from Senegal, Nigeria, Guinea and Benin. You will find variations of these dishes in America and the Caribbean region.