Finding Eldorado: Slavery and long-run development in Colombia

► Colonial gold-mining in New Grenada was a key source of variation in slavery. ► Slavery has a long-run effect on contemporary development outcomes. ► Slavery has a long-run effect on contemporary land inequality. ► Slavery has a long-run effect on early 20th-century development outcomes. ► No evidence of sectoral specialization or state presence as persistence channels.