The Tragic Plight of Enslaved Wet Nurses
The Tragic Plight of Enslaved Wet Nurses The disturbing history of enslaved African mothers forced to breastfeed white babies in the 1600s. Since slavery, the dehumanization of black people has been entrenched deeply in the social pyramid. One such is the tragic case of black mothers who were forced to breastfeed their owner’s children at the expense of their own. The History of Wet Nursing Some historians believe that the practice originated in the 1600s when Malaria claimed numerous lives of many white settlers. The slave owners believed that feeding their babies with milk from their native slaves would provide them natural immunity towards Malaria. This had a trickle-down impact on not only racial but also the psychological, financial, and political fabric of the society throughout the Black community. SHOP NOW ON AMAZON -- Slave Escapes and the Underground Railroad in North Carolina American Heritage Eventually, the white mothers considered it below their social status to br...