1798: New colonial regulations in Cuba officially recognized the dual challenge of enslaved people escaping to the cities and enslaved city dwellers th

1798: New colonial regulations in Cuba officially recognized the dual challenge of enslaved people escaping to the cities and enslaved city dwellers themselves absconding. Authorities noted with concern that the majority of those who had escaped in the district were claimed by residents of the city of Havana. This recognition marked a shift in policy toward more intensive urban policing as a means to stabilize the island’s rapidly expanding slave economy. The legislation aimed to check the “sliding” of the enslaved population into the masterless life of the port town.