Question

Explain why the slave trade often divided children from parents and husbands and wives from each other. Why would slaves bring a greater profit when sold individually rather than in family groups?

Answer 1

Slave trade can be defined as the capturing, selling, and buying of enslaved persons. Slavery has existed throughout the world since ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal. Enslaved persons were taken from the Slaves and Iranians from antiquity to the 19th century, from the sub-Saharan Africans from the 1st century CE to the mid-20th century, and from the Germanic, Celtic, and Roman peoples during the Viking era.

The slave trade often divided children from parents and husbands and wives from each other:

· The wealth of slave-owners’ lay largely in the people they owned, therefore, they frequently sold and or purchased people as finances warranted.

· Enslaved persons could be sold as part of an estate when his owner died, or because the owner needed to liquidate assets to pay off debts, or because the owner thought the enslaved person was a troublemaker.

· A father might be sold away by his owner while the mother and children remained behind, or the mother and children might be sold.

· Enslaved families could be divided for inheritance when an owner died, or because the owners’ adult children moved away to create new lives, taking some of the slaves with them.·

The slaves bring a greater profit when sold individually rather than in family groups:

• There would be more units of slaves to sell and brought in much more money
• The sale of individual slaves brought in much finances depending upon the health of the slaves as each slave could be auctioned at a different price
• It was easier to crush any sort of rebelliousness among slaves
• The children could easily be trained according to the needs of the owner.
• ·There would be more work and lesser need for family time.
• It kept the slavery going on for a long time as they did not know their rights