Beyond Racism and Poverty

Dr. Karin Lurvink (1987), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, obtained her Ph.D. in 2016 and is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher. She works on the project ‘Slaves, Commodities, and Logistics’, which is looking at the impact of slavery on the Dutch economy.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsAbbreviations and ConventionsGlossaryIntroductionThe Truck System—A Nineteenth-Century Global PhenomenonAmerican Historians Discussing the Truck System—RacismDutch Historians Discussing the Truck System—PovertySelecting the Research CasesRational Choice-ApproachVoice from the Past: Source MaterialOutline1 Bayous and Bogs—The Geography of IsolationThe Louisiana CountrysideLouisiana Rivers, Creeks, Lakes, and BayousRailroads—An Improved Connection to the Outside WorldDutch Roads and Highways of Water2 Truck PaymentsFields of Cotton and SugarcanePermanent and Seasonal Peat LandsTruck PaymentsDirect Non-Cash—Something to Eat and a Few Rags to Wear?Indirect Non-Cash—The Company StoreColorful Tokens and Handwritten Store NotesLiving off Future IncomePiles of Greenbacks, Dollars, and GuildersConclusions3 Abuse? The Effects of the Truck SystemWhiskey, Jenever, and AlcoholicsHigh Price, Low QualityUsurious Interest RatesDebt PeonageConclusions4 Costs and Benefits—The Employer’s PerspectiveCosts—The Opposite of the Truck SystemEconomic Forces and Financial DifficultiesStrapped for CashMiserable Years and Declining Profits‘The Queerest Looking Creatures’—Labor Supply and Productivity‘The Misery of this Time’ and Truck Payment MethodsConclusions5 Carrots, Cake, and Candy—The Store as a Positive IncentivePresents ‘Joyfully Accepted’Facilitating CommerceSelf-sufficient Little Worlds of Their Own?The Alternative Marketplace –‘A Welcome Sight to the Rural Resident’Credit ScarcityConsumerism and the Physical Artifacts of Modern Life‘From Something to Eat, to Something to Work, to Something to Wear’Shopping in the Peat Employer’s Store—‘The More We Take, the More We Have’Access to DesiresConclusions6 Sticks and Strikes—The Store as a Negative IncentiveDebating and Denouncing the Truck System‘No Way to Check the Honesty of the Records’Lack of FreedomRacist Truck System?Conclusions7 The Power of Racism and ClassIncreasing TerrorDeclining ResistanceRacism and the Truck SystemNo Truck, No JobLowest Class of SocietyConclusionsConclusionMain ConclusionsRacism and PovertyBeyond Louisiana and the Netherlands: Suggestions for Future ResearchAppendicesAppendix 1. Louisiana Database and Method of AnalysisCreating the DatabaseMethod of AnalysisAppendix 2. Dutch Database and Method of AnalysisAppendix 3. Harry Baptiste and Samuel Taylor—Oral History Interview 2011Appendix 4. Isolation and InfrastructureSourcesUnpublished SourcesPeateriesPlantation AdministrationsPhotographsTokensInterviewsPrinted SourcesNewspapersDutch NewspapersUniversiteitsbibliotheek Vrije UniversiteitGovernment DocumentsDutch Government DocumentsSecond Chamber ReportsFirst Chamber ReportsMapsMiscellaneousPublished sourcesPrice DataTravel AccountsMiscellaneousBibliographyLiteratureUnpublished StudiesIndex