Royal prosecutor orders seizure of officials’ assets, including enslaved people

Caracas cabildo minutes identify Francisco, a Black man, as a public town crier. This official role makes visible a Black worker whose labor served public communication, even as the archive’s racial...

After labor shortages at Margarita's pearl grounds, Governor Pedro Fajardo sought 400 enslaved people for Margarita and 200 for Cumaná. A royal cédula dated 4 October ordered the request studied; it...

Caracas councilors discussed obtaining 500 enslaved people on credit for sale to local residents. The proposal reveals the cabildo's role in expanding the human trade through local credit; the meeting...

Church officials in Coro proposed using church funds to buy 12 enslaved Africans from Maracaibo to advance building work. Their appeal framed Indigenous population decline as a labor shortage,...

The Caracas cabildo petitioned the Crown for permission to bring 1,000 enslaved Africans into the province. This is a record of local officials seeking a larger coerced workforce, not evidence that...

Royal officers investigated a slave ship lost near Capatárida on the Falcón coast. After an accident, only two enslaved Africans remained in the area; the ship continued to Maracaibo, where the...

A cabildo order told shopkeepers not to conduct business with enslaved Black and mulatto people. The notice was proclaimed by Juan, a mulatto in a city official's service. It records restrictions on...

The Caracas cabildo record identifies Salvador, a Black man, as a public town crier. The brief entry offers evidence of an African-descended person performing a visible civic role, while the record...

During preparations to pacify Nirgua, Captain Juan Pérez Hurtado contributed three enslaved people. The cabildo record situates enslaved labor within colonial military expansion against Indigenous...

Caracas cabildo records discussed lots given to Black and mulatto residents and later listed lots they purchased. The minutes offer evidence of Black and mixed-race residents making claims to urban...