Feudalism in the Colonies

Feudalism in the Colonies:
When European settlers shown up in the Caribbean, they brought with them their customs and faith and the feudal ideas of landownership and hierarchy. In colonies like Barbados, the plantation economy resembled a feudal estate, with wealthy landowners on top and a stiff social hierarchy underneath them. These plantation owners wielded significant power, managing big systems of land and the labor of enslaved Africans who worked under harsh conditions.

Although the Caribbean's social and financial realities varied from those of middle ages Europe, the underlying concepts of land-based power and hierarchical control were comparable. Gradually, this transplanted system adjusted to the regional context, producing a distinct colonial society that reflected European influences and the harsh truths of life in the Caribbean.

Learn more about how the decline of feudalism paralleled the end of slavery in the Caribbean.