Charles Calvert and Once-Known Enslaved Attendant

~He stands in the shadows on the right of Edward Savage’s monumental group portrait The Washington Family, one hand slipped into his waistcoat (fig. 33). Tucked between a column and an upholstered chair,...

The purchase of slaves in Africa was, as we have seen, infrequently depicted in the eighteenth century. But the acquisition of slaves was only the initial stage of the process of enslavement. From Africa the slaves were transported in large numbers in ships adapted for the purpose to colonies—the dreaded Middle Passage—and if they survived the journey, they were put to work on...