Atlantic Slave Auctions

Throughout the Antebellum time period, the practices of the slave trade included high level auctions. In the south, due to the newly developed cotton gin, plantation owners could make an immense amount of cash by growing cotton. However, since the labor for growing cotton was highly strenuous, plantation owners sought after slaves to complete their tasking work. The Atlantic Slave Trade immediately ramped up again when progressively more boats traveled across the middle passage. After the middle passage, the slaves would arrive at their second to last stop, the auction. Auctioneers posted advertisements for slaves around a city where large groups of people passed by. Slave auctions were often held on certain streets where auctioneers could display a large amount of …show more content…
When buying a slave, the African stripped naked to allow the buyer to identify any scars or illnesses (Bryant). The value of a slave heavily relied on their strength and their ability to have children. This meant that young men were the most valuable slaves bought at the auctions. Although it was a prosperous business, the government decided to end the slave trade in 1808 due to a clause in the constitution. Notwithstanding the new act, “Illegal slaving went on for about 50 years. In 1860, Nathaniel Gordon, one of the last American slave ship captains, made a voyage to West Africa and loaded his ship”(“The Slave Trade”). Since it was such an affluent business, no one could pass up such an opportunity. A multitude of plantation owners cherished the idea of making more money through slaves so much that they went past their own government. The auctions during the antebellum period spread slaves throughout the south for more plantation owners to increase their