Slave markets

When the surviving slaves arrived in America, they were immediately taken to slave markets where slave dealers or plantation owners bought them for two or three times as much as the slave traders trade them for in Africa (Bottaro, et al. 2013). 

All the people that wanted or needed slaves would come to these slave markets to look at potential slaves to buy. They would properly check out the slaves in order to determine whether they were worth spending money on. The healthy and strong slaves were bought to work on the plantations, and some of the other would clean houses for their owners. Many families were broken up because of this, and once these slaves were bought, they were seen as the property of their owners (Bottaro, 2013). 

Learner activity 4; Discuss in groups.

1. Why were the healthier slaves in higher demand than the others that were not considered as healthy?  Refer to the benefits for the owners.

2. How do you think the slaves felt as they were standing there waiting to be sold to someone?

3. Why was it acceptable to buy and sell people at that time?