Slave+Trade+&+Auciton

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=** Slave Trade, and Auction: DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! **= =

By: Ramon Ferreira, Lane Sands, and Sammie Stephenson

Slave trade is a horrible part of our past. Never in a million years would we ever want to relive that part of our past. You may be thinking what key terms of slave trade there is. We have narrowed it down to three different interesting topic's Price Ranges of the slave, What the price ranges were based upon, and the transportation that got them there. So here are some interesting things about slave trade, you'll be amazed.

Price Range
During times of slavery, most slaves were sold at a significant price for his/her abilities. In fact, a few slaves went for $1,600! That's $35,200 in today’s economic system. What the buyers would look at on a slave is how many lashings they had (which means how obedient they are according to how many they have), how strong they were, and how respectful they are of their owners. Failure to meet these requirements sometimes resulted in the owner executing the slave, simply because he was not needed anymore. Now even though the owners had strict limits on where their slaves could go, they would sometimes release the older slaves into freedom, letting them live their final years in freedom. But for the young, it was different. Child slaves could be sold for as much as $200 at the age of six. The children could clean homes, transport cotton, and bring food to their owners. But regardless of the jobs, even if the slaves weren’t qualified for the job, they were forced to, and that is just the way things were for the life of a slave.

"Slave Facts." //http://homepage.ntlworld.com//. ntworld.com, Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .



What the Prices were based on
Amounts varied off of the qualities and traits of the Slave. They were usually sold in groups. They would be sold in “families” but not their actually family; a man would not be paired with his wife, or a child to its mother. The also looked at the well being of the slave (how little he gets sick), the skills that the slave is good at which could be: a. Blacksmith b. Cooks c. Cotton Gin/ or ability to sew or knit. They would also value children because they would last longer on the plantation. The valued men that were strong and outlasting. They also were sold based on obedience and how hard they did their work, how long, and did what they were told to do. Their price went down if the had a disability or a disease. If someone was worth $1,600 it is $35, 200 dollars today. There were two types of auctions; Those that sold to the highest bid, and the grab and go ones. Grab and go auctions: All people who wanted to buy a slave on the day of the auction would pay the trader an agreed amount of money. The trader would then give them a ticket for each slave that they had bought. At the sound of a drum roll, the door to the slave pen would be opened and the buyers would rush in and grab the slave or slaves that they wanted. The buyers then checked their slaves out by returning their ticket or tickets to the slave trader. Sold to the Highest bid: The slaves would be brought from the pen, in turn, to stand on a raised platform so that they could be seen by the buyers. Before the bidding began, those that wished to, could come up onto the platform to inspect the slaves closely. The slaves had to endure being poked, prodded and forced to open their mouths for the buyers. The auctioneer would decide a price to start the bidding. This would be higher for fit, young slaves and lower for older, very young or sickly slaves. Potential buyers would then bid against each other. The person who bid the most would then own that slave. They would also barter for the slave if they were desperate enough.

"Slave Auction, 1859." EyeWitness to History. 9 Mar. 2005. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <[|www.eyewitnesstohistory.com]>.



Transportation
When trading or selling slaves, they traveled by boat. They also traveled by land, making it more horrible for the slaves for not getting all the proper food. Sometimes when going by land, they ran away just to get some food and water. They were eventually found and beaten very bad. With it's introduction, The Railroad made things easier. Slaves didn't suffer as much, but they still did. Railroads made things easier, faster, more storage, no running away, and more efficient. Slaves always tried to get away so they were not sold, however futile. When found, beaten brutally and sometimes to death. Sometimes accidental, the slaves got lost when traveling on the road. The Whites always suspected it was on purpose, so they were beaten. On ship depending where you are going, it could take about 1 week - 2 months. By foot, average is 15-45 days. By train, average is about 5 hours. Each one long, but the Railroad is always the best choice but at times not. Because railroads could only go to certain places, at times they went by ship. On the ship, some people jumped off and committed suicide so they would not deal with slavery anymore. They even sometimes cut off their child's heads so they would not suffer from slavery. They even tied them up on the ship so they could not jump off. For about 20 hours a day! @http://homepage.ntlworld.com/matt_kane/slave%20facts.htm



Overview of Slave Trade and Auction Video:

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Citations for Keynote: .com, Wikipedia. "Slave Transportation." //Wikipedia.com//. 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. . .com, Wikipedia. "Eli Whitney." //Wikipedia.com//. 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. .