Project description
Skin colour as a factor in slave and labour markets
The abolition of slavery was associated with significant changes in the mobility of persons of colour. However, there is lack of in-depth research on the role skin colour played in determining the value of captives, slaves and free men of colour in the period before and after the abolition, between 1750 and 1886. The EU-funded Shades of Black project will examine the connection between economic value and the colour of slaves as well as of serfs, captives, galley workers and sex workers in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The basic hypothesis advanced by the project is that skin colour was a major factor in determining both the slaves’ value and free workers’ salaries.
Objective
Shades of Black proposes a new approach to the problem of race, a connected and global history which gives skin colour a fundamental role in determining the economic value of captives, slaves and free men of colour in the century of abolition. The objective is to examine how the skin colour of captives, slaves, serfs, workers on galleys and sex workers affected their value in economic transactions before and after the legal abolition of slavery in the period 1750-1886. The value of captives and slaves in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic changed according to the qualities they were assigned. My hypothesis is that skin colour and shades thereof were a major factor in influencing both the slaves’ exchange value and the salary level of free workers. I want to find out from the sources whether there was a correlation between the market price of slaves and the skin colour that was attributed to them by vendors, buyers and intermediaries. If confirmed, the colour black and its shades established a form of differentiation or discrimination among the workforce. I will compare experiences in countries of the Southern Mediterranean with those in the colonies of the French and Spanish Empires. For the Mediterranean, my case studies focus on the Italian area, France and Spain, and on Cuba and the French Antilles for the Atlantic. The period chosen allows analysis of, first, a period of growth in the trafficking of slaves and captives on the Mediterranean coasts, during and after the decline of the Atlantic trade, and then the consequence of the abolitions of slavery within geographical spaces characterised by accelerating mobility of persons of colour with different juridical statuses. Shades of Black entails the first study of the connection between the economic value and the physical appearance of slaves. The overall objective is implementing the first comprehensive examination of how shades of skin colour influenced the negotiation of the price at which a slave was traded.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering colors
- humanities history and archaeology history
- social sciences law human rights human rights violations human trafficking
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- social sciences economics and business business and management employment
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
30123 Venezia
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.