Schiavitù nera e legislazione schiavista nella prima fase di colonizzazione di la Española: la provisión del viceré Diego Colombo(6 gennaio 1522)

Abstract

Since the first years of the colonization process, in the possession of Santo Domingo the Spaniards tried to start an economic system based on the plantation economy. The plantation system required a substantial amount of labor force: the slaves. In the early stages of Castilian domination on Santo Domingo, mainly the indigenous peoples were enslaved. The exploitation of the natives was not enough to enhance the economic system of the island. The introduction of black slaves within the colony changed substantially the society of the colony. Several riots broke out in Santo Domingo. In this uprisings Indian and black slaves fought, side by side, to free themselves. Among the administrators of Santo Domingo emerged the need to regulate the life of the slave labor force. In such circumstances, Diego Columbus, viceré and governor of the Indies, promulgated his Provision (January 6, 1522). This text represented one of the first attempts to regulate the existence of the black slavery, in a period in which black slaves were becoming the dominant working force in Dominican possession.