The First Slave Auction At New Amsterdam

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During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries slaves originally from Africa were used as a labor force for wealthy landowners. However, the use of them differed each century. In the 1600s slaves were seen by most as objects and possessions. In The First Slave Auction at New Amsterdam in 1655, the painting describes one of the first slave auctions in the Americas. It depicts whites being very rowdy and how they bid on the slaves. In one part of the picture, the viewer can observe a black person, chained up, looking on in bewilderment. This is textual evidence that proves the fact that whites saw the slaves as objects and the slaves did not take pleasure in it. In the 1700s, however, the mood is heavy and the blacks are not delighted.

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