Slave sale poster, 1829

This is a poster from 1829 advertising a slave auction. Slaves were advertised and sold, along with other commodities, underlining the dehumanising nature of slavery. The slaves are described in terms of their ability to work and have been given European names. They would have been prepared to look healthy before the auction, where potential buyers would have inspected them like animals, next to the horse ‘Blucher’ mentioned at the bottom.

Enslaved men and women were often separated and forced to go with their new owners to distant places, torn apart from their friends and family. Slave labour was also let, or rented, to other owners for fixed periods of time.