Health and Wellness of Enslaved People

George Mason IV most likely knew that the life of enslaved people was hard. Tutored at a young age by his uncle John Mercer, Mason spent much of his childhood in a private study reading. Mercer gave texts to his bookish nephew, including the latest publications on science and medicine. These works would be absorbed into the Gunston Hall library and bequeathed to subsequent generations.  Thus, it is probable that George Mason IV entered adulthood as a man versed in 18th-century ideas of health.  Given his body of knowledge, did he care that the workers on his property suffered (bodily and pyschologically) from the abuses of slavery? Did he seek to help or treat them, and did the enslaved people of Gunston Hall try to heal themselves?

Credits

Farhaj Murshed