The failed promise of freedom—Emancipation and wealth inequality in the Caribbean

Abstract

Was there any redistribution of resources in the Caribbean societies after emancipation from slavery? What were formerly enslaved persons’ prospects to improve their socio-economic status like after emancipation? To shed some light on these questions, this paper provides unique empirical evidence on patterns of wealth inequality before and after emancipation for the island of St. Croix, a typical slavery-based sugar island in the Caribbean. Our findings suggest that there was no decrease in inequality following the institutional break of emancipation. A key explanation, we argue, rests on factor endowments and more specifically on the restrictive land–labour ratios that prevailed on several Caribbean islands such as St. Croix. Due to these factor endowments, formerly enslaved persons remained unable to accumulate any substantial amounts of wealth for decades after emancipation.