By The Aftermath Of Post Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
After the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was banned by the US in 1808, enslavers found a new way to make a profit, this being breeding farms. Enslaved women were forced to bear children, and their children became property from birth.
Many of these enslaved women were forced into reproducing as soon as they were able to; some as young as 12 to 13 were made to become breeding livestock, being valued only for their bodies and their ability to produce as much children for enslavement as possible. The enslaved men were often forced to impregnate multiple women regardless of their own personal relationships. Some of the men were selected based on their physical strength with the hope they would create stronger offspring, while others were sold after impregnating the women to ensure they would have no claim to their children.
Buck breaking and the systematic sexual abuse of enslaved men occurred the same period the breeding farms happened. While the focus of the breeding farms were on reproduction, buck breaking was used as a tool of psychological and physical dominance against men who tried to resist their enslavement. This involved the public sexual assault or rape of enslaved black men often by their enslavers or overseers. It was meant to:
* Break the will of those who resisted or showed leadership.
* To instil fear in the other slaves by humiliating the strongest among them.
* Assert their dominance through the use of sexual violence as a weapon of control.
Enslavers used rape, forced piercing and systematic violence to increase birth rates. Some enslaved women were repeatedly raped by their white enslavers, while others were paired with different men with the aim of conceiving as much as possible.
Two major breeding states were Virginia and Maryland, they sold slaves to the deep South. One of the most notorious firms which trafficked thousands of people was the Franklin and arm field firm in Virginia. The domestic slave trade thrived all the way from Washington DC to new Orleans.
Children sold from their mothers were never reunited, husbands and wives were separated permanently. Many enslaved women bore children under these inhumane conditions only for their children to be taken away and sold as property. The civil war and 13th amendment officially ended legalized slavery in the year 1865 but the trauma of the events still lingered. Many of the freedom black people spent decades searching for their sold family members. The forced separation of these families disrupted generational stability. They were denied the right to build strong family units and this instability carried into reconstruction and beyond. This legacy of forced reproduction and destruction of families still affects the black community today. Generations of trauma, systemic oppression and economic instability continues to shape issues like family dynamics, rates of child birth and community structures.
America doesn’t teach the full truth of slave breeding farms but we have to. The suffering of our ancestors must not be forgotten and honor should be given for their resilience. The impact of these horrors is still with us today. It is understood that reading about these horrific events is painful, heavy and deeply upsetting and uncomfortable but acknowledging it is an act of resistance because it honours their strength and survival. They endured unimaginable sufferings yet their spirit was not broken. They fought, loved, built and because of them we are here today.
Thank you for educating yourself on this history. It’s not easy to confront but remembering ensures that their pain was not in vain. Let this knowledge strengthen you not just with sorrow but with the understanding that we come from a lineage of survivors. Keep learning, keep sharing and never forget their stories.
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