Working in the ‘White Man’s Grave’: Wages and Migration from Europe to the Gold Coast in the Eighteenth Century

IF 0.2 Q2 HISTORY
K. Rönnbäck, Stefan Öberg, Stefania Galli
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引用次数: 4

Abstract

This article examines the economic incentives for Europeans to migrate to the so-called ‘white man’s grave’ of West Africa. Ignorance and coercion have been proposed as explanations for migration to high mortality areas. We use data on the Royal African Company and their European employees on the Gold Coast during the period 1707–1740. We found that the employees received a premium above the wage they would have received in England. Economic reasons might therefore have swayed the decision to migrate. Nevertheless, the wage premium was low in relation to the very high risk of dying. The migrating men either placed a low value on their own lives, or did not understand the risks they were facing.
在“白人的坟墓”里工作:18世纪从欧洲到黄金海岸的工资和移民
这篇文章探讨了欧洲人移民到西非所谓的“白人坟墓”的经济动机。有人提出无知和胁迫是向高死亡率地区迁移的原因。我们使用了1707-1740年间皇家非洲公司及其在黄金海岸的欧洲员工的数据。我们发现,这些员工获得的保费高于他们在英国的工资。因此,经济原因可能影响了移民的决定。尽管如此,与死亡风险极高相比,工资溢价较低。这些移民要么对自己的生命评价很低,要么不了解自己面临的风险。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Journal of Migration History
Journal of Migration History Arts and Humanities-History
CiteScore
0.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
23
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