INVENTORY OF THE ENSLAVED: Characteristics and Transformation in Slavery in Araxá (MG), 1816-1888

Abstract

Our work is dedicated to the analysis of slavery in Araxá, Minas Gerais, from 1816 to 1888, a period that includes significant transformation. Specifically, the text focuses on demographic elements of the slave population and presents data concerning both the natural reproduction of the enslaved as well as of the slave trade. The levels and the composition of wealth that reflect the evolution of slaveholding are considered. We go on to analyze the determinants of slave prices. Our sources consist fundamentally of probate records that shed light upon this locality in a period which saw the economy diversified and oriented largely toward the domestic market.