joscelyn gardner

In this small study, a cacophony of women's voices hauntingly ruptures this contemplative space with painful testimonies of sexual exploitation on colonial Caribbean plantations. This work addresses the secret use of the Peacock flower as a natural abortifacient by 18th century Caribbean women. Armed with practical knowledge passed on orally from their African ancestors, enslaved women concocted potions from plants to end their pregnancies. As an act of political resistance against their exploitation as 'breeders' of new slaves and to prevent the expansion of the plantation economy, slave women often chose to either abort or kill their offspring as an act of protest against the inhumanity of slavery.

 

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