Jeffrey --

I am well aware of the appalling hygiene and diseases of slaves in  
the 18th century, but that is hardly the limit. As I have written  
elsewhere I think one of the things that brought Franklin and  
Jefferson together was their personal cleanliness, which was notable  
in an age when even the wealthy stank. Going to a gathering even of  
the mighty must have been like sticking one's head in the laundry of  
a basketball team after the game. Franklin who, to me, is the most  
interesting of all the Founders was, at one point reputed to be the  
only man in Philadelphia who bathed daily, and certainly one of the  
very few who actually had a purpose built bathtub. Slaves, being at  
the bottom of the social hierarchy naturally got the least, and  
suffered the most. But disease and death were commonplace whatever  
one's rank. Just look at the number of 18th century planters who had  
multiple wives, because so many women died in childbirth. The common  
state of hygiene in the colonies was far worse, and the medical  
options less, than would have been found in a comparable setting in  
the Roman empire.

-- Stephan 


On 15 May 2008, at 13:41, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Stephan;
>
> I am not sure that you found offensive  about my post.  Perhaps you  
> should
> read the following on slave hygiene to  get a better feel for my  
> point vis-a-vis
> Mr. Jefferson and Ms.  Hemmings:
>
>
> The Health of Slaves on Southern Plantations  (Louisiana State  
> University
> studies) by William Dosite Postell;  and
>
>
> (http://www.amazon.com/This-Species-Property-Culture-Galaxy/dp/ 
> 0195022459/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210873126&sr=8-31) This  
> Species of Property:
> Slave Life and  Culture in the Old South (Galaxy Books) by Leslie  
> Howard  Owens;
> and
>
>
>
>
> Medicine and Slavery: The Diseases and  Health Care of Blacks in  
> Antebellum
> Virginia (Blacks in the New  World) by Todd L. Savitt.
>
>
> J.D. Southmayd
> a/k/a J South
>
>
>
>
> **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists  
> on family
> favorites at AOL Food.
> (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)
>
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