Slavery
Videos
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regard to their labour. It is an economic phenomenon and its history resides in economic history. Slavery typically involves compulsory
Peter, a slave from Louisiana, in 1863. The scars are the result of a whipping by his overseer.
A poster for a slave auction in Georgia, U.S., 1860
13th-century slave market in Yemen
Portrait of an older woman in New Orleans with her enslaved servant girl in the mid-19th century
Peter (enslaved man)
Videos
Peter was an escaped American slave who was the subject of photographs documenting the extensive keloid scarring of his back from whippings received in slavery. Although keloid scarring was not a usua
Slavery
…Peter, a slave from Louisiana, in 1863. The scars are the result of a whipping by his overseer. Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially…
Historian David Silkenat argues that this image is the earliest photo of a series of three of Peter made by McPherson & Oliver.
Third and final photo of Peter, taken sometime later; note growth of facial and head hair and somewhat more confrontational pose; this was the version shared with Harper's Weekly.
Caption attached to back of copy held at U.S. National Archives