[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "A stong high quality slave was an expensive asset from the perspective of the slave owner. As such a smart business man used those assets wisely in order to maximize his return in his investment."

An interesting point, one I used to use myself but there is a flaw. Not everyone is a smart business man. By this logic there would never be reckless driving of expensive automobiles nor would there be poorly maintained vehicles. There will always be stupid people but with slavery it was a human being that would pay for the neglect. Still more slaves were left alone more than we commonly think.

[Michael.SF.]

I agree with you. There are today and were then a lot of welthy people who lacked both a moderate level of intelligence and common sense.