Violence in Iron and Silver
Branding a human being was a powerful symbol of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Along with the collar, chain and whip, branding remains a potent emblem of the centuries-long trauma experienced by millions of Africans taken from that continent.
This project represents direct engagement with evidence of branding to produce a traditional monograph, an edited volume and a visual, searchable database permitting both scholars and the general public to understand the extent of this injustice. Despite the wealth of visual evidence of branding, insufficient effort has been made to produce a complete catalogue of the people and corporations who owned the brands throughout the European nations and slave societies of the Americas. Such connections would offer concrete evidence of companies, families and individuals whose personal marks were branded onto other humans as proof of ownership.
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Violence in Iron and Silver
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Sex: B
Age: 11
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: B
Age: 12
Physical Characteristics:
Scarification
Sex: B
Age: 13
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: M
Age: 10
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: B
Age: 11
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: B
Age: 13
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: W
Age: 28
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Burned
Sex: W
Age: 22
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Tattoo
Sex: W
Age: 19
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: W
Age: 20
Physical Characteristics:
Holes
Sex: W
Age: 26
Physical Characteristics:
Unspecified Scars
Sex: W
Age: 30
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Tattoo
Sex: W
Age: 22
Physical Characteristics:
Smallpox
Sex: W
Age: 24
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Complexion Yellowish, Unspecified Scars
Sex: W
Age: 14
Physical Characteristics:
Pitted/Pockmarked, Disease Indicator
Sex: G
Age: 10
Physical Characteristics:
Scarification, Pitted/Pockmarked, Disease Indicator