Unit 2: Plantation Tourism (TG1_gr1)

 Unit 2: Plantation Tourism

Axis 2: Territory and Memory

How can we properly pay tribute to the legacy of slavery through plantation tourism?

Oak Alley Plantation

 

The document under study is a vlog about Oak Alley Plantation, located in Vacherie, Louisiana, nearby the Mississippi River. We can hear a historian who is introducing the place. Oak alley plantation was a sugar one. It was known as being the best sugar plantation in Louisiana, and was even nicknamed the “Jewel in the Crown” of the Sugar Bowl. Besides, the landowner was even called “King of Sugar”. To cultivate sugar was very intensive for the slaves: they had to harvest the crop then crush it immediately to turn it into juice. Then it would be boiled several times to get the sugar.

The slave master would live in the Big House with his family. The kitchen was not even in the house in case it would be caught in fire so that the house would be spared. The slaves were the ones who would cook for the family of the owner. There were the slaves quarters, further away from the Big House. There were places where the slaves would live. Usually, their cabins would be smaller than the Big House.

Homework: Learn the lesson.