Economic Consequences of the Black Sea Slave Trade

• In Event: New Agendas in Historical Political Economy

Abstract

Between the 15th and the 18th centuries, Tatar raids in the Black Sea region led to the capture and enslavement of approximately four million people, making Eastern Europe the largest source of commercial slaves in the early modern world after West Africa. Despite the Black Sea slave trade's massive scale and distinctive features --- most notably the noncooperation of native elites and the relatively strong capacity of raided states --- little is known about its consequences for socioeconomic development. Analyzing the first comprehensive dataset on Tatar raids using difference-in-differences and instrumental variables strategies, we find that more intensely raided areas initially experienced a decline in population and urbanization, yet went on to not only recover but achieve higher levels of development from the 18th century onward. Our findings caution against generalizing conclusions about slavery's socioeconomic consequences from the Atlantic slave trade, suggesting that cooperation with native elites and the strength of preexisting state capacity play a key role in conditioning such effects.

Authors

• Volha Charnysh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Ranjit Lall, London School of Economics