Based on two case studies, this article attempts to explain how the descendents of slaves acquired land, used it, and through their production became tied to local markets in an area of the Province of Santa Marta at the end of the colonial period. In other words, it examines how they became free peasants. We argue that, by the second half of the eighteenth century, the emergence of peasant economies in the Province is clearly discernable. We also indicate some historical particularities regarding the emergence, productive activity, and market ties of this peasantry.

Historia crítica (Bogotá, Colombia)

Peasant economies; freemen of color; land access; land use; Colombian Caribbean; local markets