Abstract
The land abundance view of African history uses sparse population to explain pre‐colonial land tenure and slavery. I document the geographical forcing variables that predict land rights, slavery and population density in a cross section of global societies. I discuss whether these correlations support theories of land rights and slavery, including the land abundance view. I show that pre‐colonial institutions predict institutional outcomes in Africa in the present, including land transactions, polygamy and public goods. Pre‐colonial institutions have effects above those of geography. The colonial reversal of fortune did not erase their influence.
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