Abstract
This article examines the impact of gold mining on slavery in colonial Brazil. Crown policies, economic pressures, and gold's role as an instrument for social mobility had demographic repercussions—affecting sexual imbalance, the ratio of slaves to freedmen, the availability and distribution of labor. Economic factors determined ethnic origins, slave trade patterns, and the assimilative capability of blacks as illustrated by the slave family. Differences between slavery in mining and plantation societies are emphasized. The transfer of technical skills is signalled as a major African contribution to the New World. The article concludes by assessing the psychological and administrative impact of a black majority.
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