Final answer:
Colonel Lloyd used the tarring of fences as a method to control his slaves psychologically, making them fear even the necessity of food. This form of punishment reinforced their powerless status and was part of the broader inhumanity and manipulation within the system of slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
Colonel Lloyd's rules regarding picking fruits and vegetables from his garden, as described by Frederick Douglass in his autobiography, exemplify the cruelty and control imposed upon slaves. The measures taken, such as ticking the fence, were not only to prevent theft but to instill a psychological fear of punishment.
Lloyd's strategic use of tar as a means to catch and severely whip those accused of theft created an atmosphere of fear and distrust among the slaves, even towards a necessity such as food. This form of mental and physical control worked to deny slaves any sense of autonomy, reinforcing their subjugated and powerless status.
In the broader context of slavery, such practices had a deep psychological effect on enslaved people. Not only were they being denied the most basic form of sustenance from the fruits of their own labor, but the mere act of sustaining oneself became a potential cause for brutal punishment.
This laid the groundwork for a manipulative relationship where slaves were constantly under surveillance and control, perpetuating the inhumanity of slavery and the power imbalance it created.