Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans, Charleston, July 24, 1769 [Advertisement]
Annotation
This image is of an advertisement for a nearly equal number of adults and children from Sierra Leone at a Charleston Auction. This image is important for several reasons, namely because one should see what an auction advertisement looks like, but also because the number of boys and girls is nearly equal to that of the number of men and women imported. Other things that should be pointed out is the information given in an auction advertisement. The information given is meant to not only provide as much information as possible for buyers, but it is also an indicator of planter demand during the time of the auction. Lastly, the sketches of Africans on the advertisement are an indicator of how Africans are viewed at this time. Not only do the facial features of the Africans appear exaggerated and stereotypically 'African', but both figures are very muscular and imply that the Africans for sale are strong and physically fit. The artist was careful to include both adults and children in the sketches, so as to catch the eye of interested buyers looking to invest in younger slaves.
Source
Handler, Jerome S., and Michael L. Tuite, Jr. "Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans, Charleston, July 24, 1769." <a class="external" href="http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php">The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Trade in the Americas: A Visual Record</a>, <a class="external" href=http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas&theRecord=69&recordCount=73>http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/details.php?categorynum=6&categoryName=Slave%20Sales%20and%20Auctions:%20African%20Coast%20and%20the%20Americas&theRecord=69&recordCount=73</a> (accessed July 3, 2008). Annotated by Colleen A. Vasconcellos.
How to Cite This Source
"Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans, Charleston, July 24, 1769 [Advertisement]," in Children and Youth in History, Item #148, https://cyh.rrchnm.org/items/show/148 (accessed August 10, 2021). Annotated by Colleen A. Vasconcellos
