Slave health on plantations in the United States
Open-knowledge reference entry
The health of slaves on plantations in the American South was a matter of concern to both slaves and their owners. Slavery had associated with it the health problems commonly associated with poverty. It was to the economic advantage of owners to keep their working slaves healthy, and those of reproductive age reproducing. Those who could not work or reproduce because of illness or age were sometimes abandoned by their owners, expelled from plantations, and left to fend for themselves.
Life expectancy
A broad and common measure of the health of a population is its life expectancy. According to "Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Slavery," by Robert Fogel, the life expectancy in 1850 of a White person in the United States was forty; for a slave, it was thirty-six. Mortality statistics for Whites were calculated from census data; statistics for slaves were based on small sample-sizes, and all records used by Fogel to calculate the average life expectancy of enslaved people came from the slaveholders themselves, casting doubt on their accuracy and usefulness.
Diseases among slaves
European physicians in the West Indies frequently shared their knowledge of black-related diseases with North American colleagues. Diseases that were thought to be "negro diseases" included, but were not limited to:
While working on plantations in the Southern United States, many slaves faced serious health problems. Improper nutrition, the unsanitary living conditions, and excessive labor made them more susceptible to diseases than their owners; the death rates among the slaves were significantly higher due to diseases.
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