[Cuba]. [Slavery]

Registro Civil de Esclavos de la Jurisdiccion de... [manuscript caption title]

[Havana? ca. 1850s]. [138]pp. Folio. Stitched, with remnants of leather binding along spine. A few blank leaves scattered throughout. Dampstaining and moisture damage at upper fore-edge of scattered leaves, slightly affecting text. Moderate offsetting, occasional ink burn. Light edge wear and tanning, scattered foxing. Good. Item #3976

An extensive list of slave owners in Cuba in the mid-19th century who were issued cedulas for their human property. Cedulas were integral documents for the identification and transportation of enslaved people in the bureaucracy of colonial Cuba, and were usually required by the government. In the present manuscript, the race and sex of the slaves being issued documents are usually identified -- Negra, Negro, mulata, mulato, Chino, China, e.g. -- though some are just entered as esclavos, and there are several entries noted as dotaciones (that is, complements, usually large, of slaves on a plantation). The names of the owners are grouped alphabetically according to their first names, generally, though not in any strict order, and the leaves of the manuscript are sometimes bound out of order. Often, there are multiple listings of an owner, most likely one for each slave in need of a cedula, and in all, there are approximately 2,500 or more separate listings. The first leaf appears to be a model for the cedulas that were being issued to the listed slaveholders, with dashes where the information on the slaves and slave owners is to be filled in. The entire document has the appearance of an index, with numbers at the right side of each page indicating perhaps the page numbers in the master ledger where the original entry was made. Overall, a fascinating and significant document.

Price: $8,500.00