In 1821, as the Wars of Independence drew to a close, officials of the newly created republic of Gran Colombia passed a national gradual emancipation law. At the center of it was a Free Womb law that declared legally free the children of enslaved women born after the law's promulgation, while bonding these children to their mothers’ masters until the age of 18. Yet, in addition to establishing a term limit on their legalized captivity, the law stipulated conditions for the commerce in Free Womb children, laying the groundwork for what I refer to as the Free Womb trade. This article presents the first detailed exploration of the origins, operations, and limitations of the Free Womb trade in Colombia, particularly at the level of one province: the northwestern Pacific coastal province of Chocó. I argue that the trade created distinctly bounded market geographies of Free Womb children, who were actively, if at times ambiguously, incorporated into Colombia's slave economy. As a general rule, the Free Womb trade placed captive families at the mercy of their masters; yet, as one extraordinary case reveals, the full extent of the local trade's legal power was not entirely secure.

1821年，独立战争即将结束，新成立的大哥伦比亚共和国的官员通过了国家逐步解放法。它的核心是《自由子宫法》，该法律宣布法律颁布后出生的被奴役妇女的子女从法律上释放，同时将这些子女与母亲的母职联系在一起，直到18岁为止。他们为合法的囚禁行为，法律规定了Free Womb儿童的商业交易条件，这为我所说的Free Womb贸易奠定了基础。本文介绍了哥伦比亚自由子宫贸易的起源，运作和局限性的首次详细探讨，特别是在一个省（西北太平洋沿海省份Chocó）一级。我认为，这种贸易为自由子宫的孩子创造了明显受限制的市场区域，这些孩子积极地（有时甚至是模棱两可地）融入了哥伦比亚的奴隶经济。作为一般规则，自由子宫贸易将俘虏家庭置于主人的摆布之下。然而，正如一个特殊情况所揭示的那样，本地贸易的法律效力的全部范围并不完全安全。