On “the remedies and medications which were given to ailing negroes:” health and death spending on slaves by the Office of the Jesuit Province of Paraguay, 1711-1745

Abstract

This text analyzes the way sick slaves were treated at the Office (ofício) of the Jesuit Province of Paraguay and Santa Catalina Farm (estancia) between 1711 and 1745. The sources consulted – Libro de cuentas del Ofício, Memoriales, and Cartas ânuas – reveal that the sickness of the enslaved people generated expenses, not only for medications, clothing, and food, but also for shrouds for their burial. As for the slaves from the Santa Catalina Farm, the sources indicate that depending on the infirmity, they were sometimes sent to Córdoba, where they were treated by laypersons trained in the healing arts, which incurred different expenses, also recorded in the ledgers.