Population and Slavery in Vila Rica de Ouro Preto (1712-1770)

Abstract

The discovery of gold at the end of the 17th century and of diamonds during the 1730s in central-southern Brazil caused profound dislocation in the slave trades, turning the Minas Gerais region into an unprecedented pole of attraction for migrant and slave labor. In this work, we perform a sociodemographic analysis of the slave population in Vila Rica de Ouro Preto, the capital of the captaincy of Minas Gerais, in a period ranging from 1712 to 1770. For this purpose, and based on previous literature, we use the data series gathered from the two parishes that made up the urban geography of the region, as well as the notarial records preserved at the Arquivo Histórico do Museu da Inconfidência - Casa do Pilar. The reconstruction of families and the study of the relationship between the sociodemographic data of the slave contingent and those of the rest of the population, the processes of manumission, and the evolution of the slave import market have allowed us to prove the dependence of the slave population on slave trade.