POR MI PRECIO O MI BUEN COMPORTAMIENTO: OPORTUNIDADES Y ESTRATEGIAS DE MANUMISIÓN DE LOS ESCLAVOS NEGROS Y MULATOS EN SANTIAGO DE CHILE, 1698-1750.

The aim of this paper is to determine under what circumstances slaves became eligible for freedom and to track their efforts and strategies to achieve it between 1698 and 1750. This is a period when slavery was widely legitimized in Santiago, Chile. The findings are based on the analysis of seventy two letters of freedom, along with wills written by masters and former slaves. After the crossed analysis of these primary sources the author argues that various emotional, socio-economic and legal impediments gave shape to a rigid institution that allowed a minimum flexibility to obtain liberty. Thus, slaves played an active role in their own manumission processes, negotiating agreements through payment for their freedom or opting for the strategy of manumission trough good behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]