Esclavitud - History Lab

Fleet of Naples during the 16th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:03 +0000

The expansion of the existing frontiers in medieval times meant that a growing slave labour force entered into many of the labour transactions during the modern period. Naples and Valencia were two major enclaves in Europe during the 16th century where the Catholic Monarchy fixed its slave trade. During this time Naples was engaged in reinforcing its fleet in preparation for a Turkish offensive, relying on slave labour to cover many of the needs that would progressively arise.
In the Neapolitan fleet, forced labourers accounted for 74.6% of the oarsmen, slaves for 15.4% and volunteers for only 10%. The cost of the workers obliged to provide their services in different ways was determined by successive negotiation phases in which a representative of the viceroy, another of the asentista and the captain general Juan de Cardona had to reach an agreement in order to achieve a synthesis between the different parties and proposals.

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Evolution of the population by socio-racial groups in Cuba, 1774-1827

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

The post Evolution of the population by socio-racial groups in Cuba, 1774-1827 first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the population by socio-racial groups in Matanzas (Cuba), 1774-1827

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

At the end of the 18th century, the island of Cuba underwent a series of institutional transformations that resulted in a reformulation of the colonial pact between the local elites and the crown. This series of changes affected the structure of property ownership, agricultural production and the growth and composition of the population, making the island the world’s leading colonial sugar producer. Until the 17th century, the weight of the sugar economy in the province was minimal. The jurisdiction had five mills in 1778 and eight in 1792, producing 1.5% of the island’s total sugar. The momentum of the slave plantation system in the region was such that in 1827 there were 111 enclaves dedicated to this type of production in Matanzas, which contributed 25% of the island’s total production. One of the indicators of this process of change was the availability of labour linked to the success of the sugar model, where slaves and free blacks predominated. In the case of Matanzas, the general trend of growth was led by free blacks and slaves in the first period, with a more timid increase among whites. From 1792 onwards, the rate of growth was set by the slave population. With regard to Cuba, it should be noted that growth never stagnated at any time, and that the intensity was more pronounced, especially at the end of the period. The dynamism is reflected in the growth of the population of Matanzas as a proportion of the island’s population, from 2% in 1774 to 7% in 1827. Slaves not only outnumbered the white population, but also accounted for 9% of the total number of slaves in Cuba in 1827. In general terms, Matanzas underwent much more intense demographic transformations than the rest of the island during the 18th century, particularly among the slave population.

The post Evolution of the population by socio-racial groups in Matanzas (Cuba), 1774-1827 first appeared on History Lab.

Evolution of the births, deaths and natural growth of the black population of Matanzas (1755-1810)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

The post Evolution of the births, deaths and natural growth of the black population of Matanzas (1755-1810) first appeared on History Lab.

Annual series of immigration entries of African slaves in Matanzas, 1755-1810

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:48 +0000

At the end of the seventeenth century, the island of Cuba underwent a series of institutional transformations that resulted in a reformulation of the colonial pact between the local elites and the crown. This series of changes affected the structure of property ownership, agricultural production and the growth and composition of the population, making the island the world’s leading colonial sugar producer. Until the 17th century, the weight of the sugar economy in the province was minimal. The jurisdiction had five mills in 1778 and eight in 1792, producing 1.5% of the island’s total sugar. The migration calculation, through the registration data, shows a very low immigration of slaves. The reasons for this are that the expansion of the agricultural frontier was from Havana towards Matanzas, which means that, if there was immigration, it should have been in this direction, and that the mobility of the slave depended on his owner, so it is expected that the slave population remained in Matanzas with their masters at the time of the sugar expansion. The flow of slave imports in the second half of the 18th century increased tenfold and was marked by strong oscillations. The largest inflows corresponded to an international context of internal transformations that made it possible to increase the black labour force through the slave trade in three periods. In the first period (1775-1785), slave imports seemed to be more sporadic and dependent on external events, such as the British invasion of 1762 and the American War of Independence. During the second period (1785-1795), there was a change in the trend towards a regular increase in forced immigration, and the effect of the French Revolution in Saint Domingue in 1791 led to a smaller influx of slaves. The growth of the curve coincided with medium-term internal transformations, such as the liberation of the slave trade (1789-1798), the application of duties favourable to production, alcabalas or tithes on sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton and the stimulation of the sugar trade, such as the increase in tariffs for free trade between Spain and the Indies. The last period, from 1795-1810, saw a stabilisation of the massive influx of slaves.

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Slaves present in 16th century capitulations in America

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:25 +0000

In contrast to the slaves present in Spain, who were more dedicated to domestic and artisanal tasks, the need arose in America to turn them into a tool for the colonisation of new territories. Despite the prohibitions against black populations in the times of Cisneros and Charles V, the need for labour and large numbers of slaves made them the mainstay of the occupation of the Indies during the 16th century. From 1511, the massive importation of blacks began to expand, and it was even said that they would acclimatise quickly to the new territories because of their physical characteristics.
Through the capitulations, an attempt was made to develop new territories for the benefit of the Crown, and many private individuals offered black slaves to carry out tasks such as discovering, populating and pacifying these new territories with tasks known as domestic-scuderil. Their role was to work alongside a lord to help him with the difficulties that arose in establishing new settlements.

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Legitimacy and parental status

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:20 +0000

The city of Cadiz underwent an economic transformation during the modern age that turned it into one of the most important cities in Europe. The crossroads of trade routes from the Indies, Africa and Asia turned this great city not only into a commercial emporium, but also into a place marked by the presence of allochthonous people who were integrated into servitude and slavery. The study of the profile of the slave is a task that has been undertaken by social history. This type of study has never ceased to be of interest in order to gain a closer understanding of the networks that operated in the transatlantic empires. In this case, the legal status of the parents of these slaves is shown. This type of testimony is made possible by the scrupulousness with which ecclesiastical documents were used to classify individuals and to obtain information about their life trajectory, a documentation that was promoted above all after the Council of Trent. The testimonies describe the situation of the baptised slave in a city as important as Cadiz. Informal links between the progenitors prevailed, as it was not common for the masters to approve of the union between slaves. When this happened, or when another slave became pregnant, they were usually separated so that they could not meet again. This explains why the descendants often did not know who their father was.

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Chronology of the Sale of Slaves in Cadiz, 1650-1750

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

The slave trade during the Modern Age reached its peak in the 16th century, years of strong commercial exchange in America after its discovery in 1492. However, other cities such as Cádiz, near the port of Seville, saw its peak between 1650 and 1700. The main groups of slaves that were sold came from the African continent with the following profile: black women between 20 and 29 years of age. There, Portuguese, English and Dutch ships bought slaves from local chieftains and transported them to Spain for sale and distribution, a practice that spread to the rest of Europe. Such sales could be made by public auction or by direct contracts between the parties; both cases were recorded in the files of the Notarial Protocols, although on many occasions no written record was left. That is why the real figures of sale could, according to studies, be multiplied by 5 in the city of Cadiz, going from 3,481 to 17,405 slaves traded between 1650 and 1750.

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3D video of a slave ship

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:06 +0000

The European colonisers trafficked millions of slaves captured mainly in Africa in order to use them as labour for numerous activities. Thus, thousands and thousands of people were transported to various regions of the planet, as we know well in the case of the American continent. This 3D reconstruction details with great precision each compartment and operation of the 18th century slave ship called L’Aurore. This resource is available in the “Transatlantic Slave Trade Database”, which contains an immense amount of information on the development of slavery from the 16th century to the end of the 19th century. It is a project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (United States) and is the result of the efforts of scholars from different institutions, including historians, cartographers, and slave trade specialists and researchers.

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