
Wage-Earning Slaves
Coartacion in Nineteenth-Century Cuba
University Press of Florida
Published on 8. December 2020
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-68340-165-0 (ISBN)
Description
Wage-Earning Slaves is the first systematic study of coartacion, a process by which slaves worked toward purchasing their freedom in installments, long recognized as a distinctive feature of certain areas under Spanish colonial rule in the nineteenth century. Focusing on Cuba, this book reveals that instead of providing a "path to manumission," the process was often rife with obstacles that blocked slaves from achieving liberty.Claudia Varella and Manuel Barcia trace the evolution of coartacion in the context of urban and rural settings, documenting the lived experiences of slaves through primary sources from many different archives. They show that slaveowners grew increasingly intolerant and abusive of the process, and that the laws of coartacion were not often followed in practice. The process did not become formalized as a contract between slaves and their masters until 1875, after abolition had already come. Varella and Barcia discuss how coartados did not see an improvement in their situation at this time, but essentially became wage-earning slaves as they continued serving their former owners.
The exhaustive research in this volume provides valuable insight into how slaves and their masters negotiated with each other in the ever-changing economic world of nineteenth-century Cuba, where freedom was not always absolute and where abuses and corruption most often prevailed.
The exhaustive research in this volume provides valuable insight into how slaves and their masters negotiated with each other in the ever-changing economic world of nineteenth-century Cuba, where freedom was not always absolute and where abuses and corruption most often prevailed.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Florida
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
10 black & white illustrations, 6 tables
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68340-165-0 (9781683401650)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2020
1st Edition
University of Florida Press
€83.49
Available for download
Persons
Claudia Varella is adjunct professor in the Department of Education at the International University of La Rioja.
Manuel Barcia is chair of global history at the University of Leeds. His many books include The Yellow Demon of Fever: Fighting Disease in the Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Manuel Barcia is chair of global history at the University of Leeds. His many books include The Yellow Demon of Fever: Fighting Disease in the Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Slave Trade.