Advertisement for Sale of Slaves (1774)
Captured Africans were sold at auction as “chattel,” like inanimate property or animals. Many literate ex-slaves discussed the degradation and humiliation they felt when they were treated like "cattle."
This 1774 broadside, typical of the advertisements used in the North as well as the South before the Civil War, advertises the sale of slaves and land, the availability of employment for an overseer, a recall of debts, and a reward for anyone who captured two runaway slaves. The captors claim that the Angolan Africans, scheduled to be sold at auction in Savannah, Georgia, were “prime, young, likely healthy.” The runaway advertisement on this same broadside gives specific information about two African-born male runaways which includes height, complexion, build, and clothing.
Background courtesy of Library of Congress (Public Domain); Image in the Public Domain