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Slaves were punished with all kinds of torture. They were punished for everything.

The law provided slaves with virtually no protection from their masters. On large plantations this power was delegated to overseers. These men were under considerable pressure from the plantation owners to maximize profits. They did this by bullying the slaves into increasing productivity. The main method used to control the behavior of slaves was the threat of having them whipped. The number of lashes depended on the seriousness of the offense. Austin Steward wrote that on his plantation 39 was the number for most offences. Francis Frderic ran away and was free for nine weeks. After he was captured he was given 107 lashes. Moses Roper, received 200 lashes and this was only brought to an end when the master's wife pleaded for his life to be spared. As they knew that as blacks were unable to give testimony against white people in court, overseers knew that they were fairly safe in handing out these whippings. In September, 1844, the                                       St. Louis Republican                                        reported that a eight year old black girl had been whipped to death. However, the master of the girl was free of charges..

Shackles used to hold slaves while they were sold (sometimes), but mainly they were used to ship them to America.

Slaves were whipped quite often. This was the most commonly used form of punishment. A slave could be whipped for not moving fast enough, not working hard enough, stealing, murder, running away, talking back, or sometimes even looking at a white man eye to eye. White men could treat slaves anyway they wanted. A white man could rape a slave woman and not be punished for it. If a white man beat a slave unconscious and the slave wasn't "his", they were probably fined by the master for messing with his property. Slaves were branded just like you would brand a cow. They were branded and scarred for life.