Witchcraft Beliefs as a Cultural Legacy of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Evidence from Two Continents∗

This paper formally examines the hypothesis that the historic slave trade contributed to the propagation of persistent witchcraft beliefs on both sides of the Atlantic. As documented in archival records and case studies, the Atlantic slave trade, a source of hardship for millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa, was commonly perceived by the locals as a form of witchcraft, and its perpetrators were viewed as witches and cannibals. Furthermore, in response to the rising demand for slaves, witch trials became a common vehicle of supplying captives by condemning the accused individuals and their families to slavery. Consistent with these narratives, we find that representatives of ethnic groups which were more heavily exposed to the Atlantic slave trade in the past are more likely to believe in witchcraft today, thus establishing a link between historical trauma and contemporary culture. Exploring the role of the slave trade in cultural transmission across continents, we further show that Afrodescendants in Latin America are substantially more likely to believe in witchcraft relative to other racial groups. Moreover, accounting for race and other relevant factors, people residing in regions historically more reliant on African slave labor are also more likely to be witchcraft believers.