4. Isolation and Confinement
Enslaved individuals who violated plantation rules or attempted to escape were often subjected to isolation and confinement as severe forms of punishment. They were sometimes locked in small boxes or pits, sometimes for days, depriving them of food and water. These solitary punishments aimed to break spirits and force submission. Such practices were part of a broader system of control aimed at suppressing resistance and maintaining the subjugation of enslaved people (via pbs.org).
