Is Selective Breeding of African Slaves Historically Accurate?

Question

So I hear this theory that Black American stereotypes about strength and speed are true because in the past Slave Masters practiced selective breeding to get bigger men.

But that doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't bigger, stronger, faster slaves be harder to control? Also farming requires stamina, not necessarily strength or size.

And you can't control human reproduction like animal reproduction, unless you separated the sexes with an iron fist (which I don't think the Slave masters did).

Answer 1

The best place to find out is the american eugenics website. I don't have the url but you can google it. Should tell you everything you want to know.

Answer 2

Kyle Onstott wrote several books about this very thing> Books names were Drum, Master Of Falconhurst, and Mandingo. Books were written in the 1970's I believe.

Answer 3

So what's your point, All your gonna get is other people's opinion.

Answer 4

Well, it's not so much that slavers specifically sought to breed stronger or faster slaves, but rather stronger men were better able to survive slave life and reproduce.

Moreover, stronger/larger slaves were more appealing for purchase and thus more likely to be bought and housed with other slaves, where they could more easily find a partner of the opposite s*x.

Answer 5

Well you bring up good points. But here are some counter points:

Yes, they did.

Yes, it does.

Yes, they could.

Ready? And heres why... Whiteys, you see, had the guns and the book learnin's. Its very very easy to control people when they had little idea of how you are controlling them. Stamina is derived from strength and if a child wasn't fit for labor, they would be killed or sold.

Answer 6

~You might want to read some of Thomas Jefferson's works on the breeding of slaves.  His was not the only treatise on the subject but he is probably the author you will best recognize.  Notes from any of the breeding plantations might help edify your curiosity if you truly have any interest in the subject.

Selective breeding of dogs and horses was well developed by the 18th century.  The same principals applied to the 'sub-human' African chattel of the day.  Clydesdales weren't bred for speed and bull dogs were bred to suffocate bulls in the pits.  Genetics may not have been understood scientifically, but desired traits in animals had been bred into them long before Mendel came along.  

The law and US Constitution were sufficient to guarantee the return of runaways and the prison-like conditions in which the slaves were kept prevented escape as well as would have bars and razor-wire.  In addition, black slaves stood out in a white crowd and were hard to hide.  Couple that with the ignorance of geography and language.  Where was a runaway going to go?  The severe punishments also deterred happy feet and the slave revolts that did occur were put down in so decisive a manner as to discourage replication.

Answer 7

  That is true they got the strongest slaves and and made them reproduce. thats why most african-american males are large.

Answer 8

I'm sure they tried, but our long gestation period and giving birth to a single offspring (mostly), it wouldn't be very effective. You can't evoke noticeable changes over a couple generations. The slave owners wouldn't benefit (they would be dead before they seen the changes).

Answer 9

I've heard both sides of this issue...and the honest truth is, you'll never know for sure whether or not they did.

Most slave-owners encouraged their slaves to marry. It was believed that married men was less likely to be rebellious or to run away. It was in the interests of plantation owners for women to have children, though there was also a large religious angle involved in this. The children of slaves were considered a renewable resource. Why spend a lot of mooney buying slaves when you could produce your own? That's harsh, every aspect of slavery was...but its also truly the way plantation owners thought. There were breeding policies, yes. They aren't, unfortunately, readily documented. Thomas Jefferson did write some about it. It would be worth taking a look into it. Here's one resource I have on Jeffersons writing...

http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/earlyre...

Here is one of the most comprehensive, non-political sites I know of for information about slavery, even giving the narratives of former slaves. Its not easy to read, nor is it pleasant, but it answers most any question you might have.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USA...