Work

Theoretical foundations of the economics of slavery: Enslaved people as capital investments in the Atlantic world

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Despite the prevalence of slavery in world history, our understanding of its persistence remains limited. Most previous studies focus primarily on slavery as a labour contract, indistinguishable from other coercive arrangements such as serfdom. More recent literature on slavery in the United States shows that enslaved people also played an important role as financial instruments. In this article, we extend the investigation by comparing slavery in the United States with that in Brazil and the Cape Colony. We show that despite significant geographic, demographic, and economic differences, slavery was not merely a labour arrangement in the three cases but a unique institution that gave enslavers complete rights over mobile property. Slavery provided access to both labour and capital, with the capital investment dimension being key to understanding its persistence. We argue that understanding slavery’s persistence requires recognizing enslaved people as both sources of labour and capital investment.

Source: Journal of Global History

DOI: 10.1017/s1740022825100296

Authors: Igor Martins, Erik Green

Institution: Lund University

Language: English

Topic: Colonialism, slavery, and trade

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,550