Mining was thought of being a great boost for the economy in the Caribbean islands and so the slaves had to spend a lot of time there. In the mines, the number of male workers outnumbered that of the females , even so, there was still an opportunity for communication between the opposite sexes. Families were often impacted because of the smaller number of females, as well as the high death rate. The harsh working conditions were often too harsh to survive and so families were often destroyed. .
Other working environments slaves were summoned to do also created a form of social interaction. Slaves worked as gangs, which was the most effective way of getting slaves to be more efficient, or in gang systems, where the task are given to individual families and each member of the family has to work. In the Caribbean, slaves were summoned to do sugarcane cultivation due to the climate and the soil, working in the fields for hours, ". slaves were generally awakened at four in the morning and worked until ten or eleven o"clock at night" (21). After the work is done the master then inspects the work and a whipping is sure to follow after. If the work was not done to the liking of the master, the inevitable happened, a whipping for your laziness. Some laws could even punish their slaves for not being happy enough while doing their work, or partaking in any other activities. Slaves were restricted from gathering in groups, traveling without a pass, and riding horses without the permission of their master.
When the work is done then the slave is allowed personal time to partake in outside activities. Usually this time is used to do even more work. For instances after working in the fields all day it is seen as being very typical to see slave men cut wood while women prepared meals. Extracurricular activities of slaves such as them being parents, preachers or anything other than workers were never acknowledged by their masters.
