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

Celia Cussen, Manuel Llorca-Jaña and Federico Droller

Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2016, vol. 34, issue 3, 449-477

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. Este es el primer estudio de precios de esclavos para Santiago de Chile, c. 1773-1822. Reunimos más de 3,800 contratos de compraventa, una serie que confirma la forma de U invertida habitual en la relación entre precio y edad. También se encontró que: las mujeres esclavas eran siempre más costosas que los esclavos varones, al contrario de lo sucedido en varios otros mercados; la edad óptima de esclavos en Santiago fue de 16-34, un rango etáreo menor que lo común en otros lugares; los precios de esclavos hombres se movían en la misma dirección que los salarios reales de los trabajadores no calificados; y la libertad de vientres produjo un impacto dramático en los precios de mercado en 1811.

Date: 2016
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