El mercado de esclavos en la ciudad de Lima desde el Mercurio Peruano, 1827-1832

This paper analyzes the variables of age, sex, cost, and occupation, within a set of commercial advertisements of slave trade in Lima published in the journal Mercurio Peruano (August 1827-December 1832). The study aims to delve into the dynamics and characteristics of slave trade’s supply and demand in the capital of Peru, in years when there was no internal social reproduction of slaves and international slave trade didn`t provide any more slaves in Lima. Commercial advertisements published within the pages of this republican newspaper shed light about labour life of slaves and the social contradictions of the time, since slavery was familiar to readers who felt these notices as part of their everyday life (hence, saw slavery and essential human inequality as natural), at the same time that they would defend the tenets of freedom and equality between the citizens. In terms of methodology, this paper combines statistical methods with historical and discursive analysis.