The Day Labourer in Cartagena in the Second Half of the 18th Century

This article analyzes the type of workers present in the construction and renovation of Cartagena de Indias fortifications and the type of compensation they received during the second half of the 18th century. It has as principal sources the Relaciones de Mando, reports made by the engineers that oversaw the construction sites to the Spanish Viceroys. As a result, the article identifies a multiplicity of actors along with a variance of wages that were determined by the type of labor performed and the workers' social status. This research also identifies that criminalized forced labor was widely used to remedy the shortage of slave labor and prevent the dependency of the constructions works on free and paid workers.