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Raising Capital to Raise Crops: Slave Emancipation and Agricultural Output in the Cape Colony

Author

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  • Martins, Igor

    (African Economic History Network)

Abstract

Agricultural output fluctuated worldwide after the emancipation of slaves. The usual explanation is that former slaveholders now lacked labor. This is not the full story: slaves were not just laborers but capital investments to support production. Using databases covering more than 40 years from Stellenbosch in the British Cape Colony, this study measures changes in output before and after emancipation to determine the role of slaves as factors of production. Large shortfalls in compensation paid to slaveholders after the 1833 Abolition Act reveal that slaves were a source of capital that strongly influenced production levels, an important reason for the output variation.

Suggested Citation

  • Martins, Igor, 2020. "Raising Capital to Raise Crops: Slave Emancipation and Agricultural Output in the Cape Colony," African Economic History Working Paper 57/2021, African Economic History Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:afekhi:2021_057
    DOI: https://www.aehnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AEHN-WP-57.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    slave emancipation; slave trade; agricultural history; labor coercion; Cape Colony;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania
    • N47 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Africa; Oceania
    • N57 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Africa; Oceania

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