ks, albeit free, a central organizational unit from which to gain power. The slaveowners operated solely out of self-protection of their plantations, and because they knew that treatment of the slaves was abhorrent, they wore worried that those exploited might rise up against their power. This admission looks psychologically into the minds of the slaveowners, showing their knowledge of unfair treatment and coercion, and their guilt at inflicting it upon another human being. Thus came the undeniably different attitude held by the owners towards the Methodists.The Baptist faith also established a very strong foothold in Jamaica over a period of time. Their movement began in 1784 with an ex-slave from the United States, George Liele, who received his freedom from his master because of his fine preaching ability. He established a church in Kingston, from which he built many congregations all over the nation. The wide appeal of the Baptist faith, came from in part, its black ministers who identified with the plight of the slaves. This interest within the Baptist church eventually led to a great split in the church, with half following the traditional, orthodox teachings of Liele, and the other half adapting the message to their own needs. (Patterson, 1967, pg. 212)Missionaries of these churches faced many adversities in bringing their message to the African peoples. Those clergy who wished to instruct the slaves oftentimes could not gain access to the slaves because planters would not grant the slaves any free time to study religion, or even to till their own plots. (Russell-Wood, 1982, pg.130)The majority of slaves come from West Africa where polygamy was practiced, i.e. one man having many wives. They all shared the some compound with their husband who was the father of their children. Some African tribes chose their chief because of his virility and physical prowess. A man's virility was based on the number of his offspring, especially ma...
