Slavery, one of America’s greatest tragedies, caused immeasurable suffering and loss of human life. The Stanford prison experiment is frequently cited when people discuss the brutality demonstrated by humans with power. But we don’t need to look any further than our own history for these examples.
10 INTERESTING FACTS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT SLAVERYSlaves could be punished for any number of “offenses,” including theft, laziness, running away, or even speaking their native language. By some accounts, enslaved people were even disciplined for sport. Here are 10 of the most horrible punishments recorded for slaves in America.Warning: This content contains graphic descriptions of various physical abuses and tortures and may act as a trigger to sensitive individuals. Great care has been taken to respect the lives and histories of the people represented as slaves. Please read at your own discretion.
In America, slaves, including pregnant women and children, were often whipped as punishment. The famous image of the slave “Gordon” (aka “Whipped Peter”) reveals that the skin on his back was raised with a lattice of scars from brutal and repeated whippings.[1]However, some owners did not stop there. When their slaves’ wounds began to heal, these owners ordered that the wounds be split open and that products such as red pepper and turpentine be applied to the gashes. According to some accounts, one owner ground a brick into rubble and dust, mixed it with lard, and had it rubbed into the wounds of a slave.
Slaves were often expected to work in exceptionally difficult physical conditions, especially in the fields or on cotton plantations. Other slaves worked in their masters’ homes and were expected to be “well-groomed” and “clean.” These slaves often had lighter skin or “better speaking skills.”Either way, it would make sense for slaves’ bodies to be protected and maintained. However, this rarely happened.Particularly in cases where slaves had fought each other or resisted their owners or overseers, it was common for owners to order bodily mutilation. Sometimes, it involved cutting off an ear or slicing at the flesh. More severe examples included amputating limbs, gouging out eyes, cutting hamstrings, or even castrating both males and females.[2]In many cases, the victims did not receive medical treatment. Some died from infection, blood loss, and other complications.
Branding refers to searing the flesh with a heated metal instrument. This type of torture was typically done to denote ownership.Large companies often branded their slaves to make them easily identifiable and to prevent the theft and resale of slaves. Eventually, these brands were used as bodily evidence to refute claims from larger companies that the practice had never occurred.
In Louisiana, a “Code Noir” permitted the branding of slaves as punishment for running away. By 1840, New Orleans had developed the largest slave market in America, which placed innumerable people under this decree.[3]Particularly in the South, branding was a common punishment for running away. Often, a letter or other identifiable mark was seared onto the slave’s face. This usually prevented that person from being assigned to any house or serving work.