Roser Salicrú i Lluch on “Slavery in the Late Medieval Mediterranean: an Overview from the Former Crown of Aragon”

In-person at Yale University in HQ Rm 207 and livestreamed

Sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies, and the Council on European Studies, at Yale University’s MacMillan Center

Introductions:

David W. Blight: Director, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition; Sterling Professor of History, Yale University

Speaker:

Roser Salicrú i Lluch: Senior Researcher, Department of Historical Sciences—Medieval Studies, Milà and Fontanals Institution for Research in the Humanities, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Barcelona https://www.imf.csic.es/la-imf/personal/roser-salicru-lluch/

Discussant:

Paul Freedman: Chester D. Tripp Professor of History, Yale University

In the Late Medieval Mediterranean (mid-14th – mid-15th centuries) slavery was more widespread than is often assumed, especially in the former Crown of Aragon (i.e. the areas of Barcelona, Valencia and Mallorca). By 1425, about 15% of the population in Barcelona were enslaved. The majority of the enslaved men and women originated from Eurasia and the Balkans, while one third of those enslaved were Muslims captured in the Western Mediterranean. Focusing on the Crown of Aragon, this lecture will present an overview of the characteristics of medieval Mediterranean slavery, the current research projects dealing with the topic, and the latest study approaches.