Slaves were not expensive, y’all. I don’t know where this myth started, but if you could buy a cheap car today, you could buy a slave.

And yes, they were often killed or beaten half to death; people saying otherwise are mistaken.

One thing we never talk about is the women and children. The average birth weight of a slave’s newborn was about five pounds. The pregnant women worked until the day they gave birth and most of the babies died of dysentery or other ailments of the day.

This whole idea that slaves were treated well bc profit is an absurd fantasy created to make folks feel better about what happened.

If you want a better look, research slave hunting ads of the days. Note the descriptions of the slaves: one eye, back scarred up like ground beef, missing limbs, etc.

Source: grad degree in US history with an emphasis in Civil Rights.