The Value of Enslaved Bodies

When Sarah Benjamin was a little girl, her slaveholder tried to sell her.  She remembered that “marse stripped me start modern naked and puts me on de block.”  There she stood with an audience of potential buyers inspecting her body.  Despite that several people bid on her, the $350 offer did not satisfy her enslaver and he rejected the bids.  Sarah believed he turned down the sales because she was “good and fat” and he believed he could get more money for her. What did it mean to buy and sell enslaved bodies?  How did enslaved people like Sarah respond to being treated as a commodity? My remarks focus on enslaved women’s bodies; specifically their appraisals and sales at every age from birth to death and beyond.  Most studies of slave prices emphasize the value of “prime male” bodies and largely ignore bondwomen with the exception of “fancy girls” known for their beauty.  The new history of slavery and capitalism is also guilty of overlooking women. Yet, the institution of slavery thrived because women literally gave birth to additional sources of labor. Enslaved women’s bodies were often classified according to their fertility as well as their physical prowess. Women and girls like Sarah understood that their bodies held values and they found ways to live with this reality through a set of survival mechanisms that allowed them to focus on their individuality as well as their souls.