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The most recent as well as the most comprehensive book on the statistics of the Atlantic slave trade has been written by Professor Philip D. Curtin. The Atlantic Slave Trade, A Census is a work which applies modern techniques and sophisticated analysis to the very difficult historical problem of the magnitude of the Atlantic slave trade. As Curtin himself states: ‘The dimensions of the nineteenth century slave trade have always been a matter of controversy — political controversy at the time and historical controversy since’. Professor Curtin's book will not put an end to the controversy, but it does suggest further areas for research. More work needs to be done on the historical sources from which the statistics of the slave trade are derived. This article examines the main sources available for assessing the importation of slaves into Cuba from 1790 to 1867 and analyses the statistics which these sources yield in the light of Curtin's conclusions.
The military coup d'état which installed General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez as President of El Salvador during December 1931 created a crisis involving the 1923 Washington Treaties. By the terms of these accords, the Central American nadons had pledged to withhold recognition from governments seizing power through force in any of the isthmian republics. Although not a signatory of the treaty, the United States based its recognition policy on this principle. Through this means the State Department had attempted to impose some stability in Central America, by discouraging revolts. With the co-operation of the isthmian governments, United States diplomats endeavored to bring pressure to bear on the leaders of any uprising, to deny them the fruits of their victory, and thus reduce the constant series of coups and counter-coups that normally characterized Central American politics.
This chapter is basically descriptive. It sets out to account for some of the more interesting institutions that were imposed on, and developed by, the miners of Zacatecas and its district in their efforts to extract the mineral wealth of their region, and to show the circumstances in which they worked. It is concerned, therefore, with what a French historian would undoubtedly call the structures of mining – for example, the connection between mining and land-ownership; systems of labour; mining technique; and the supply of raw materials. These subjects will be dealt with as discrete topics, and it is hoped that the inevitable ensuing loss of continuity will be compensated for by a gain in clarity. A preliminary qualification about the range of the discussion must also be made. What follows is intended to be an account of mining in the whole district of Zacatecas – that is, embracing both the city and the various lesser mining towns for which it acted as a centre. But to a large extent, specific reference will be made only to Zacatecas itself, and its mines and miners. The basic reason for thus limiting the view is simply that little information is available about the smaller towns. In any case, it is fairly clear that concentration on Zacatecas itself can lead to observations and conclusions which are valid for the whole region, merely because the evidence that is available indicates that conditions in the city (with certain exceptions, which will be obvious) were representative of those obtaining in the surrounding smaller towns.
A good description of a tina appears in AN.Z, FE 1678 (n.f.), in a lease contract dated Zacatecas, 22 June 1678. Matías Tenorio, a miner of Zacatecas, leased his hacienda de minas to Cristóbal Carrasco. The inventory of the works includes a description of the washing shed. ‘El lavadero contiene ocho tijeras enlatadas, todo cubierto de tajamanil, a medio servir, gualdra, rueda, dos lanternillas, eje con sus guijos y cinchos, y toda la dentazón nueva y bien tratada, peón con cincho y guijo espeque con sus cuartas y horquetas, una tina grande, bien tratada, con tres cinchos y guijo, corriente y moliente, todo bueno, una tinilla chica de apurar con sus cinchos y otra de limpiar plata pequeña.’ Although the exact meaning of some technical terms is not clear, a reasonable translation is as follows: ‘The washing shed contains eight trusses, with rafters, the whole being roofed with wooden shingles, in moderate condition; the principal upper cross-beam (of the machinery), the main driving wheel, two pinions, the shaft with journals and iron binding-straps, all the gear teeth being new and in good condition; a smaller shaft with strap and journal, a paddle with four cross-pieces and spikes, a large vat, in good condition, with three iron straps and an iron bearing, all in good running order; a smaller purifying vat, with iron straps and another small vat for washing small pieces of silver.’ The phrase ‘espeque con sus cuartas y horquetas’ presents some difficulty, and is here taken to mean the paddle assembly rotating in the vat, called in other inventories simply ‘el molinete’.