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James Ramsay's The Old Plantation

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A slave plantation was land were abducted Africans were taken to work in America. During this time labour was becoming very expensive, so owners couldn’t find anyone to work for them. Consequently many planters and the owners of the plantations turned to slaves and made them work for them. By 1750, 85% of the population in the south were slaves. But what was life like for slaves? Were slaves treated well? Or were they punished frequently? Did men and women receive the same punishments or treated differently? Does it affect us today?
James Ramsay was a slave abolitionist campaigner. He was concerned about the punishments slaves received on the plantations; hence he tried to abolish slavery. In 1763 he married Rebecca Akers, the daughter of …show more content…

It was painted in the late 18th century by a South Carolina slaveholder called John Rose. This is from a slave holder so it means he saw the slaves doing these actions and then interpreted it into a painting. This means it is very reliable due to the fact that it was painted by a slaveholder so that means he was a witness to the events and was able to paint it while seeing it in person. However he never asked the slaves what they were doing, he just painted what he saw. This means that he painted it so it looked like they were dancing, however we don’t actually know if they were dancing or if it was some sort of ritual. Some argued saying that it was a wedding, because of the broom depicted into this painting. But historians believe this was a dance. A painting is quite useful as it shows us an image that we can see clearly and imagine what it’s like unlike an account like James Ramsay’s. Also the image he painted wasn’t an interpretation unlike other paintings, so this is a very useful source for learning about what slaves did on plantations on weekends/ free time. However we don’t get a clear understanding of what the artist was trying to tell us, so the purpose is unknown, contrasting to James Ramsay’s

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