53 pages • 1 hour read
Sara CollinsThe Confessions of Frannie Langton
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: British Slavery in Jamaica
Slavery in Jamaica began with the Spanish, who controlled the island from 1494 to 1655 after taking it from the Indigenous Taíno people. They brought many enslaved people from Africa to provide forced labor. When the English took control of the island in 1655, they built an economy on the island based around sugar cane plantations, which depended on the continuation of slavery. The population of the island became predominantly Black, as more people were brought to be enslaved to satisfy the demands of the plantations. Sugar cane is a difficult crop to cultivate and harvest, and which still requires a complicated refinement process. In the early days of sugar plantations, refinement involved dangerous machinery and open fires. Conditions on the plantations were brutal and unrelenting. Unsurprisingly, there was constant unrest, with white enslavers fearing the outbreak of revolts, and maroon colonies (settlements of those who escaped slavery) sprouting up around the island.
With the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, the slave trade was outlawed, but slavery itself did not end in Jamaica. The law meant only that newly enslaved people could not be brought to Jamaica and that people who were already enslaved could not be sold. Though seen as a step forward for abolitionists, a consequence of the law saw enslavers in Jamaica forcing the people they enslaved to produce children in order to continue the sugar plantation-based economy. It was not until Britain abolished slavery and emancipated all enslaved people within the Empire in 1838 that slavery ended in Jamaica. Even then, although slavery had been outlawed, British plantation owners began to bring in indentured Chinese and Indian laborers to satisfy their demand for cheap labor. Jamaica became an independent nation in 1962.
Socio-Historical Context: 19th Century London Society
Early-19th-century London was a place of profound and deeply ingrained class stratification. Upper class London society, like that of the Benhams’ and their associates, was focused on their entertainments and salons. They prized reputation above all else. There were strict social codes to follow, with interaction between social classes limited to pre-designated circumstances such as maid and mistress. There were rigid rules which governed such interactions and which were seen as necessary from both groups. Those who stepped out of the designated roles set for them were often maligned by others within their strata of society.
On a broader scale, the rapidly expanding British Empire and increased importation of goods led to increased discussion of colonial life. The 18th century saw a rise in interest in Black literature, with works such as Phillis Wheatley’s poems becoming recognized in literary circles. There was an interest in narratives of formerly enslaved people with the growing calls for abolition, and books like The History of Mary Prince, an autobiographical work dictated by the formerly enslaved Mary Prince, were widely popular.
The criminal justice system was also undergoing changes, but none had been widely implemented by the time of Frannie’s trial and execution. One of the prison reforms discussed since the late 18th century was the idea of prison as a space for penance, reinforced by constant watching—the panopticon. Many of Frannie’s experiences through her trial resemble the concept of the panopticon, with Fannie being watched constantly for any misstep.
