This image is a flyer for a slave auction to take place in the south during the early to mid 1800's. What interested/ disturbed me was the ongoing theme in this class that slaves are a false commodity. The flyer reads, " a choice cargo of about 250 fine healthy negroes" which gives me the impression that these people are not judged upon their character or morality, but instead being inspected as inventory upon one of these slave ships. When I read this I couldn't help but think about cattle on a farm that have their ears tagged and marked, much like a type of brand. It appalls me to think of the extent at which these peoples liberties and rights have been stripped, only to be worked and beaten from sun-up to sunrise. The flyer also mentions that sailors on the ship have taken extra precautions in and care to keep these slaves free of small-pox. Once again this paints a picture of a type of inspection process that added to the idea of slaves being a false commodity. It makes me question if persons infected with small- pox were regarded as "damaged" goods and sent away or if they were just left to die.
Personally I honed in on the phrase " the utmost care has already been taken", utmost. Other than being alive, I can't imagine they were in the position to imply more than that was being attended to. I find it odd to think that they had time to make sure the slaves weren't sick but but they didnt take any precaution to make sure they weren't ill with anything other than small pox. I'm sure if malnutrition of contagious maybe they would attend to it more. I completely agree with Jamie in that the continual sale of slaves made them feel like a commodity, to the extent where without them it is possible our entire economy could have failed at the time. Like in the pictures of the slave ships, this flyer reminds me of people being treated like animals. Today you can open any news paper and find an article on how someones selling a puppy thats just had all its shots. In the same way the slave sellers in this article advertise their "stock" of slaves. Proclaiming them as "healthy", when as mentioned above malnutrition and physical abuse are hardly indications of a healthy human being. What strikes me as interesting though is that the theme of the slave holder being like an animal, with no sympathy is a common theme in our readings. Yet it seems like in most instances even though the slave holder is like an animal, the slave is treated like one.
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