The life of a “typical” woman plantation slave was one that is somewhat troubling to think about. These women were forced to leave their homes and their families to become the property of a plantation owner who, for the rest of their lives, dictated what these women were to do. These women had to adjust to many different and new things. When a new slave woman arrived, she spent the majority of her time learning the native tongue, learning the new agriculture, and adjusting to the difference in the climate. (Berkin, p. 62). In learning these new things, they also had to learn to be totally submissive to their masters in body and mind or they suffered abuse and this abuse included sexual abuse as well. In order to fully understand the life of a “typical” woman plantation slave, it is important to know where she came from, the type of work she does, what her relationships are, and how she copes with her lifestyle. In the late seventeenth century, the importation of Africans from the coastal regions of Africa begins. (Evans p. 27) This proves to be an asset for plantation owners as African women were known for their abilities in agriculture and, therefore, their expertise at planting and cultivating could be put to use

137) If the slave refused the sexual overtures of her master, she was threatened with being beaten. To even scratch the surface of such an in depth topic hardly does it justice. Since enslaved women were not protected by the law because the rape of a slave wasn"tmt recognized legally as rape, these women had no access to legal recourse in the event of a rape. If an enslaved woman was able to develop relationships, they were very hard to maintain as she or her friends could be sold to another plantation owner at any given time. This sexual abuse ranged from sexual coercion from plantation owners to forced breeding for profit. Women plantation slaves worked in various jobs under various conditions. 109) This family life was encouraged by white plantation owners because slave families provided the daily living needs of the owner"tms family such as food preparation, housekeeping, and childcare. Their workdays were very long going from sunup to well into the evening hours. In addition to being sexually coerced, slave women were often times forced to live with other slave men for the sole purpose or reproducing more slave children. They endured some of the most horrifying experiences any person should ever encounter from being physically, emotionally, and sexually abused to witnessing the sale of a family member to a nearby or far away plantation with the possibility of never seeing that family member again. Slave marriages and family ties were not recognized by American law. Of all the threats to slave family life, one of the most terrible was the sexual abuse of slave women. Men and women were both put to work in the fields at the discretion of their masters. Even though Negro marriages were not recognized legally, many slaves held their own commitment ceremonies in which their marriages were recognized socially in slave communities.