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Slaves and immigrants to work: in-hospital mortality and morbidity differentials in Campinas, Brazil, 1876-1900

Matheus Albino, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

Health, disease and death are heterogeneous processes associated with the living and working conditions experienced by different social groups. Although a wide literature has been dedicated to understanding mortality and morbidity differentials, this process in populations of the past, especially in Brazil at the end of the nineteenth century, is less well known. Characterized by the institution of slavery and intense immigration flows, the city of Campinas, Brazil, registered yellow fever outbreaks at the end of the nineteenth century. This article investigates differences in-hospital mortality and morbidity by nationality and slave status, expanding the findings of previous works. To answer this question, we applied the Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method using hospital records to contrast the results found for the parish and civil death registration in Campinas. We showed that the legal condition of freedom was an important factor for a lower mortality in the free population compared to the enslaved population. After controlling other effects, the mortality differential between Brazilians and foreigners was explained in part by the selection bias of the hospital records and the higher incidence of infectious diseases in the foreign population.

Keywords: Mortality, Historical demography/methods, Decomposition analysis/methods, Health and morbidity

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  Presented in Session 116. Inequalities, Health and Wellbeing