Edward Balls Slaves in the Family free essay sample

A review of this historical narrative. This paper reviews the historical narrative by Edward Ball, giving a synopsis of the book. It deals with the treatment of black slaves, differences in the duties of males and females and the womens role as preservers of family history and as providers of insight into plantation life. It also looks at Balls investigation of the claim of the commonality of white slave owners sleeping with or raping their female slaves. The paper explains its view of the book as an example of sexism in society. Edward Ball chronicles his familys slave-owning history in the compelling historical narrative Slaves in the Family. Ball traces the lineages of his white relatives and their slaves and where possible recreates life as it was on the Ball plantations in South Carolina. Descendants of the Englishman Elias Ball bought and sold enough slaves to populate a city. We will write a custom essay sample on Edward Balls Slaves in the Family or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By no means singular in their treatment of the Africans, the Balls prove nevertheless to be a prime example of a Southern plantation dependent on the blood, sweat, and tears of families and individuals ripped from their homeland and bought and sold as commodity. Cruelty was meted out equally among black males and females, but it is worthwhile to contrast the unique experiences of enslaved women on the Southern plantations. If nothing else, motherhood and child-rearing set the women apart. They watched their newborns emerge into a world of shackles, often completely losing them to the slave traders.