Consequences of the Black Sea Slave Trade: Long-Run Development in Eastern Europe

Abstract

We study the consequences of slave-raiding in Eastern Europe, the largest source of commercial slaves in the early modern world after West Africa. Drawing on a wide-ranging new dataset, we estimate that at least 5 million people were enslaved from more than 730 locations in the Black Sea region between the 15th and 18th centuries. Pursuing a difference-in-differences and instrumental variables strategies, we show that exposure to raids accelerated urban population growth and promoted long-run development. These results reflect an economically advantageous process of defensive state-building that resulted from the ruling elites' interest in preventing population losses. Consistent with this mechanism, more frequently raided areas exhibit higher density of military fortifications and greater administrative, military, and fiscal capacity. Our findings suggest that the structure of slave production conditions the developmental effects of slave-raiding and generalizations from the African context may not apply to other regions.