Procuring Madras by African Caribbean People
Enslavers within the Greater Caribbean region were required to provide basic cloth and clothing to those they enslaved, but the clothing they provided generally did not include fashionable dress. Records show that while enslaved people sometimes received Madras handkerchiefs as part of household servant dress or as 'rewards', most had to purchase Madras for themselves. Those with access to marketplaces could sell goods or produce and use the income to buy handkerchiefs from their fellow traders, as can be seen depicted in this painting.
Related Database Records
- Entry no. 85: On the dress, fashion, and consumption practices of enslaved people working in plantation homes as domestic servants
- Entry no. <939>:
