Technology and Society: The Impact of Gold Mining on the Institution of Slavery in Portuguese America

A. J. R. Russell-Wood

The Journal of Economic History, 1977, vol. 37, issue 1, 59-83

Abstract: This article examines the impact of gold mining on slavery in colonial Brazil. Crown policies, economic pressures, and gold's role as an instrument for social mobility had demographic repercussions—affecting sexual imbalance, the ratio of slaves to freedmen, the availability and distribution of labor. Economic factors determined ethnic origins, slave trade patterns, and the assimilative capability of blacks as illustrated by the slave family. Differences between slavery in mining and plantation societies are emphasized. The transfer of technical skills is signalled as a major African contribution to the New World. The article concludes by assessing the psychological and administrative impact of a black majority.

Date: 1977
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/ ... type/journal_article link to article abstract page (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jechis:v:37:y:1977:i:01:p:59-83_09

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in The Journal of Economic History from Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press, UPH, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Kirk Stebbing ().