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Working in the 'White man's grave': Wages and Migration from Europe to the Gold Coast in the Eighteenth Century

Rönnbäck, Klas ; Öberg, Stefan and Galli, Stefania (2019) In Journal of Migration History 5(3). p.438-465
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.

Abstract (Swedish)
This article examines the economic incentives for Europeans to migrate to the socalled ‘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 17071740. 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.
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author
; and
alternative title
Att arbeta i den "Vita mannens grav": Löner och migration från Europa till Guldkusten under 1700-talet
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Africa, Early modern period, Gold Coast, Living standards, Pre-colonial, Settlers, Value of a statistical life, Wage, Afrika, Guldkusten, Levnadsstandard, Lön, Det statistiska värdet av ett liv, tidigmodern, för-kolonial
in
Journal of Migration History
volume
5
issue
3
pages
28 pages
publisher
Brill
external identifiers
  • scopus:85088806638
ISSN
2351-9916
DOI
10.1163/23519924-00503002
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019
id
e32090a5-82d0-435d-9dce-29edcd346e56
date added to LUP
2025-03-07 10:15:34
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:24:46
@article{e32090a5-82d0-435d-9dce-29edcd346e56,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rönnbäck, Klas and Öberg, Stefan and Galli, Stefania}},
  issn         = {{2351-9916}},
  keywords     = {{Africa; Early modern period; Gold Coast; Living standards; Pre-colonial; Settlers; Value of a statistical life; Wage; Afrika; Guldkusten; Levnadsstandard; Lön; Det statistiska värdet av ett liv; tidigmodern; för-kolonial}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{438--465}},
  publisher    = {{Brill}},
  series       = {{Journal of Migration History}},
  title        = {{Working in the 'White man's grave': Wages and Migration from Europe to the Gold Coast in the Eighteenth Century}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/23519924-00503002}},
  doi          = {{10.1163/23519924-00503002}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}