Talk 'Catalonia and the slave footprint. Peninsular slavers in the Spanish Antilles and their investments in Barcelona', with Martín Rodrigo Alharilla (Pompeu Fabra University)

During the 19th century, Cuba and, to a certain extent, also Puerto Rico were two territories where many peninsular Spaniards managed to accumulate notable fortunes. Fortunes linked to the slave trade or colonial slavery on plantations (sugar, tobacco, coffee, etc.). Many returned (the Indianos or Americanos) and many settled in Barcelona, where they reinvested their capital. We will review these investments and some material legacies that still endure, linked to the slave…