DOI: 10.3886/e183526
title: Legacies of loss: The health outcomes of slaveholder compensation in the British Cape Colony

description: Can wealth shocks have intergenerational health consequences? We use the partial compensation slaveholders received after the 1834 slave emancipation in the British Cape Colony to measure the intergenerational effects of a wealth loss on longevity. We find that a greater loss of slave wealth shortened the lifespans of the generation of slaveholders that experienced the shock albeit these effects are usually small and mostly confined to older cohorts of slaveholders who likely exploited slaves both as labor and capital inputs. The lifespans of those of the second generation who survived infancy were unaffected by the shortfalls and no effects of the shortfall were found for the third generation.
description: The matching process among farmers from Stellenbosch was divided into two stages. In the first stage, we matched individuals between the Claims’ Records and the Opgaafrolle using last names and names. We named the resulting dataset CR-OGR. The second stage consisted of matching the CR-OGR to the South African Families Database (SAF). The procedure adopted to match the CR-OGR to the SAF is described below. <br><b><br>a) </b>If the name and last name of the individual matched perfectly between the CR-OGR and the SAF and this observation is unique in both datasets, it is a direct match.<br><b>b) </b>If the name and last name of the individual matched perfectly between the CR-OGR and the SAF but this observation is not unique in the SAF, check for the genealogical information provided in the CR;<br><b>b.1) </b>If the genealogical information can be inferred in the CR and cross-checked successfully with the SAF, this is a direct match;<br><b>b.2) </b>If the genealogical information cannot be inferred or cannot be cross-checked successfully, seek the farm’s name in the CR;<br><b>b.2.1) </b>If the name of the farm (defined as ‘woonplek’ in the CR) can be inferred and cross-checked successfully, it is a semi-direct match;<br><b>b.2.2) </b>If the name of the farm can be inferred in the CR but cannot be cross-checked successfully in the SAF, seek the farm’s location;<br><b>b.2.2.1) </b>If the farm’s location in the CR matches with either the place of birth or place of death of the individual in the SAF, it is a weak match;<br><b>b.2.2.2) </b>If the farm’s location in the CR does not match with either the place of birth or the place of death of the individual in the SAF, it is an impossible match. The observation will not be carried further in the process.<br><b>b.2.3) </b>If the name of the farm cannot be inferred in the CR, it is an impossible match. The observation will not be carried further in the process.<br><b>c) </b>If the individual’s name matched perfectly between the CR-OGR and the SAF, but this is not true for his/her last name, this is an impossible match;<br><b>c.1) </b>Exceptions are made for last names that clearly refer to the same family but contain spelling differences that can be attributed to language differences between English and Afrikaans (e.g. Berg/Bergh, Bernhardi/Bernhardie, Liebentrouw/Liebertrau, Roux/Rous). These cases were treated as direct matches.<b>d) </b>If the individual’s last name matched perfectly between the CR-OGR and the SAF, but this is not true for his/her name, this is an impossible match;<br><b>d.1) </b>Exceptions are made for names that contain spelling differences that can be attributed to style (e.g. Jan/Johan/Johannes). If the observation is unique, it is treated as a semi-direct match. If this observation is not unique, then the procedure described in <b>b) </b>is followed.<b>e) </b>If the name or last name of the individual cannot be found in the SAF, it is an impossible match. The observation will not be carried further in the process.<br>
description: Residents of the Cape Colony from 1780 up to 1880 consisting primarily of slaveholders and their offspring down to the third generation. . Smallest Geographic Unit: Cape Colony
description: other;