ABSTRACT
Antebellum observers were aware of the early slave codes of Louisiana, which stipulated the number of lashes administered to enslaved Africans. Aside from the Black Codes, most official documents of southeastern Louisiana do not specifically address the issue of health/medical care of enslaved Africans. They do, however, define the African as property, state their value, and imply the slaveowner's responsibility. The language used in the sales of enslaved Africans also protected property for slave owning Whites. Slaveowners went to great length to protect their slave property. The enslaved African in antebellum Louisiana possessed few legal rights. Because enslaved Africans were commodities or "products," the laws that governed the buying and selling of slaves were similar to the laws that governed the buying and selling of property. Slaveowners considered their slaves significant financial investments.
