Experiences of American Slaves

            Between 1750 and 1865, slaves in the USA encountered a multitude of differing experiences depending on several deciding factors of which include location, gender of the slave and the master/slave relationship. Location often played a large part in the experience of a slave with the treatment of slaves differing from region to region. Southern slavery was known for its variety of slave employment. While most of the enslaved people worked on rural plantations which produced staple crops such as sugar, cotton, tobacco and rice for export, agricultural labour was not the lone slave occupation. The legion of domstic staff that ensured the efficiency of the 'big house' also consisted of members of the enslaved populations. Away from the plantations, more than 100,000 slaves lived in southern cities, the most notable of which were New Orleans, Charleston, Richmond, Memphis and Savannah. .
             The lives of slaves in urban locations vastly differed from those of rural slaves with a feature of urban slavery being the lack of stringent oversight. Generally, urban slaves were better fed, housed and clothed than their rural equivalents. Unkempt slaves reflected badly on the slave master, whose wealth was judged according to the condition of their slaves. The urban slaveholders concern for their reputation made certain that their slaves experienced a higher standard of living than those who lived on the plantations in rural areas who, unlike urban slaves, were rarely visible to wider society. City slaves usually had more freedom than rural slaves as part of their jobs were to move goods around the city, deliver messages and to shop at the markets. With this came more opportunities to interact with other slaves, free blacks and whites. .
             For both female and male slaves, the slave experience was almost equally devastating however these experiences were formed under different circumstances. Both were subject to mental and physical abuse, denied even their most basic rights and regardless of sex, were treated as property in the eyes of most.