Figure 1.--This painting by Auguste-François Biard depicts slave traders off West Africa. It was painted in 1833. (WSe have noted an 1840 date.) Biard was an abolitionist, but this seems to be an accurate depoiction of slve traders bringing cptive Agrins aboard their ship. We note authors and many websites using this image, but note thstee have found maske any effort to describe whst is happeming. Theree is a great deal gong on which we will try to describe. As Biard was French, it is likely that this was a French slaver. Biard traveled widely, including time in Brazil where slavery was still legal. Whether he was actually on a slave vessel to observe his seems unlikely, but the depiction is much more detailed and seemingly accurate than most abolitionist depictions. Of couse this is in pat because he was a talented artist. It may also be because he wnted to crete an accurate depiction of the horrors of slavery. We cab zoom in on areas of this image to fry to assess it in detail.

The African work force was primrily needed to work on sugar plantastions. Sugar was not the only agricultural operation in the New World, but it was by far the most important and profitable in Brazil and the Caribbean. The Europemn sweet tooth ws unsaiatble. Three were other crops such as coffee. This is the porimary reason why so few captive Africans were transported to the 13 English colonies (the modern United States), neither sugar cane or coffee could be grown in North America. There the primasry crop was tobacco (17th anbd 18th century) and cotton (19th century). Sugar production required back-breaking labor. For this adult men were needed. One source estimates that something like two-thirds of the captive Africabns tranported weere adult males. Most of the rest or over a quarter were childrem. Only a little over 5 percent were adult women. [Geggus, p. 122.] Yhey were treated vverydifferenly bord the ship. The men shackled together in pairs, but the women left unchained but confined below. Therre was often sn exercise routine. Women and children could not perform much of thelabor reqwuired on a sugar plabtation. On coffee plnbtations, women and children could be employed. There is more involved here thn just labor. If planters wanted a permsnt labor force they would have nought women as well as mem. Just buying men meant that the men were expenable. And that they would just buy replacements rather thsan having aerment self sustraining population. The planters basically view their operation as death camos. A major ussues in American plantations was breaking up famiklies,. This was much less an issue sugar olabtyions as so few mamikies were formed. Notice thst in the painting, most of the captives are men, held together with wodden yokes, their hsands tied behind their backs.

Sources

Geggus, David. "The French slave trade: An overview," The William and Mary Quarterly Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on the Transatlantic Slave Trade (January 2001), pp. 119-38.

Created: 8:44 AM 5/25/2022
Last updated: 8:45 AM 5/25/2022