Machete

Machetes were essential for harvesting the sugar cane in America and the Caribbean, but they could become a deadly weapon during a slave rebellion. These tools symbolize the instability of a society based on slavery. Planters had to give plantation workers implements that could be turned against them at any time.

Credit/copyright:   © The British Empire ≈ Commonwealth Museum
Accession number:   The British Empire & Commonwealth Museum 2002/001/686

Themes
Resistance and Rebellion
Life on the Plantation