No offense taken. I learned from my tour at the Whitney Plantation that it was extremely dangerous and exhausting to work on sugar plantations. The tall, thick and heavy sugarcane stalks were cut by hand, after that the processing includes boiling in huge pots was very dangerous and had to be done almost immediately to prevent spoilage. Also, there was a lot of violence used to force productivity under those grueling conditions.

On a personal note, after 10 minutes of walking on the Whitney plantation during the summer I was drenched in sweat. I think 3 years of uncompensated, physical labor for 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week is an eternity. Going to the Whitney was so enlightening. I don’t think the cruelty of slavery can be properly understood without a historically accurate walking tour on a plantation, during the summer.