The Value of Life and Death

The Value of Life and Death

• Enslaved people were considered property, valued financially from birth to death.
• Their value was determined by their perceived work capabilities and potential.
• Enslaved people recognized their own value, striving to assert their humanity even amidst their dehumanization.
• The death of an enslaver often led to the separation and sale of enslaved families.
• Enslaved people actively resisted being treated as commodities.
• Enslavers often prioritized financial gain and minimizing expenditures. They sometimes preferred to have enslaved people dead rather than pay a reasonable price to purchase them.
• The bodies of the dead were sometimes sold to medical schools and used in anatomical dissections.
• This practice was referred to as the "domestic cadaver trade".
• Enslaved people had their own ideas about their spirituality and the afterlife.
• This study explores enslaved people's awareness of their monetary worth, examining their perspective and actions throughout their lives.
• The book examines their perspectives on their value from before birth to after death.
• It also explores the interactions between enslaved people, enslavers, traders, and medical doctors regarding human chattel.
• Enslaved people's values were self-actualized and distinct from the views of their enslavers.
• The book considers the commodification of enslaved people's lives, examining both the economic and emotional components of their experience, highlighting the impact of capitalism and commodification on enslaved people's lives and emotions, including love, loss, and grief
• The study analyzes how enslaved people's bodies were valued from birth and through various stages of life.
• It also examines how the enslaved's worth was considered in legal disputes and insurance claims.
• In some cases, dead enslaved people's bodies were traded or sold, adding a further layer of dehumanization.
• The study examines the spiritual and physical facets of enslaved people's experiences of life and death.