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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2016

Celia Cussen ,
Manuel Llorca-Jaña  and
Federico Droller
Celia Cussen
Affiliation:
Universidad de Chile
Manuel Llorca-Jaña
Affiliation:
Universidad de Santiago
Federico Droller
Affiliation:
Universidad de Santiago
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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.

Keywords

slaveryslave pricesChileservantsgenderN36N76N96esclavitudprecios de esclavosChileservicio domésticogénero
Type
Articles/Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , December 2016 , pp. 449 - 477
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Copyright
© Instituto Figuerola, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 2016 

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Footnotes

*

This paper was funded by Fondecyt Project 1130585, led by Celia Cussen. The authors are very grateful for the research assistance of Francisco Vallejos, Juan Navarrete, Javiera Fernández, Fernanda Barrera, Juan Pablo Cares, Valentina Bravo, Yanny Santa Cruz and Paola Revilla, as well as to this journal’s referees and Herbert Klein.

a

Department of Historical Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Av. Capitán Ignacio Carrera Pinto 1025, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile. celia.cussen@gmail.com.

b

Department of Economics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago, Chile. manuel.llorca@usach.cl, federico.droller@usach.cl.

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