Did you know...

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That colonial American slaveowners were very familiar with the characteristics of various African ethnicities, and would "shop" for slaves from particular areas? They knew, for instance, which ethnic groups grew rice, and would advertise for slaves from that group if they had a rice plantation. Or if they had a smithy, they would look for slaves from ethnic groups that were particularly skilled at metalworking.

Comments

  1. Ken B10:14 AM

    Actually I did. I even recall reading slave advertisements listing ethnicities, such as Bantu. This is not surprising given the context and how the plantation owners viewed their slaves. Farmers care about Holstein vs Guernsey.

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