Slave+Culture

=Music and Faith: =

Even thought slave life was awful and woudl break most spirits slaves often found joy and hope in music and religion. They developed a new branch and culture in the cristain soceity and as a part of that they devoloped gospel. This form of music is extremely moving and was often sung in the feilds while working to give motivation and hope. Often times songs would use code words to represent the north, freedom, and the pathways to it. This would go unoticed by the overseeres and helped slaves escape.

=Daily Life= Slaves would live in small drafty shacks with other slaves, because a lack of sanitation disease was very common and medical aid was rare. Slaves created many remedies to suffice for common medical problems, they used roots and leaves to create drinks and ointments. Slaves did have some freedom in the food they ate. They were allowed to produce there own crops near there homes and often used traps and other means to acquire game animals, in many of the plantations a large portion of the land was swamps and marsh used to produce sugar cane and rice, alligators were rampant and were a common meal for slaves. For the most part children were allowed to stay with there mother until the age of 6 or 7 then they would be placed in a job. There was two main options for slaves a house slave or a feild slave. =**SLAVE AUCTIONS:**=

One of the greatest fears for slaves came in the form of an slave auction, it was the fear of being torn away from there family friends and there way of of life. Although many slave owners did not believe in the splitting of families due to a production standpoint most slaves could often be sold 6 or 7 times. This leisurely and common process for owners was extremely detrimental to slaves as it reenforced the fact in there minds that they were not indeed human. The most valuable slave would be a 14 year old girl due to the fact that she was young and had the ability to bear many children because more children means more slaves and more slaves means more money. The slave trading process was allot like a car auction, the event would be announced and the men and women would be divided and presented by there owners, and the highest bidder could then use the slave as he or her saw fit.