Study is based on {Registro de Esclavos, 1872,} {Padro n del Barrio de Santo Domingo, 1846,} and {contratos de libertos,} 1873-75. This is the first in a series that proposes to examine slavery in various geographical and economic regions of the island. In this case, authors examine urban slavery in San Juan, specifically conditions under which slaves worked and lived, and offer profile of a slave family. Findings are placed among major historiographical currents of US and Puerto Rican slave studies. They show sizable number of artisans (13% of 890 cases), many domestics (42%), a high proportion of {coartados} (17.5%), considerably more mulattoes and a few more Africans than in rural areas, and larger degree of autonomy than for agricultural slaves. Authors document breakup of slave families, although they trace efforts to reconstitute after emancipation. Study offers interesting speculations about slaveholders that should be followed up. This research will also benefit from comparisons with free people of color. [TMV]