THE DYNAMICS AND DETERMINANTS OF SLAVE PRICES IN AN URBAN SETTING: SANTIAGO DE CHILE,c. 1773-1822

Abstract

This paper provides the first survey of slave prices for Santiago de Chile, c. 1773-1822. It also establishes the main determinants of slave prices during this period. We gathered and analysed over 3,800 sale operations. Our series confirm the usual inverted U-shape when prices are plotted against age, and that age was a very important determinant of slave prices. We also found that: female slaves were systematically priced over male slaves, quite contrary to what happened in most other markets; the prime age of Santiago slaves was 16-34, a younger range than for most other places; male slave prices moved in the same direction as real wages of unskilled workers; and the impact of the free womb law on market prices in 1811 was dramatic.

The Chilean Economy during the 1810–1830s and its Entry into the World Economy

“…The institutional legacy of the colonial period was partly removed during the 1810–1820s. A free womb law was passed in 1811 (Cussen, Llorca‐Jaña and Droller, ), and slavery was abolished in 1823. The ancient mayorazgos (which favoured a high concentration of wealth in a few hands) were abolished too, the power of the Church was reduced, and the Consulado reformed (curtailing its powers).…”

The Economics of Urban Slaveholding in Santiago, Chile, 1773-1810

“…To gain a sense of relative prices for marketable assets, the average amount paid for slaves (262 pesos ) in Santiago during the period 1773-1810 was equivalent to the value of 95 head of cattle at local prices, more than 320 sheep or a little more than 4 tonnes of jerked beef at the consumer price, or 15 years of a licence to sell alcohol at the retail level (Cussen et al . 2016, p. 18) 16 . When we consider alternatives on the labour market, the purchase price of a slave, before taking into account the additional costs such as health care, food and clothing, was enough to hire and maintain a peón for almost 4 years or to employ a physician or surgeon for nearly a year 17 .…”

“…Furthermore, during the economic expansion of the five decades prior to the abolition of slavery in 1823, notaries of the capital city registered some 3,800 sales transactions involving more than 4,500 slaves (Cussen et al . 2016, p. 6). Clearly, not all these slaves were transacted in Chile only to be sent on to the Lima market; our review of parish registers in Santiago for 1777 and 1778 shows that 12 per cent of the children baptised during those years were born into slavery 6 .…”

“…We limited our analytical timeframe because the Free Womb Law of 1811 and the prospect of abolition produced significant effects on the local slave market as demonstrated by a decline in prices and a reduction in the number of transactions (Cussen et al . 2016, Figure 1, pp. 23-25).…”

“…These factors are difficult to assess from a historical distance but the analysis of a series of almost 4,000 local sales operations establishes quite clearly the existence of a market that structured the exchange of slaves (Cussen et al . 2016).…”