The transatlantic slave trade or triangular trade was a trade system involving Britain, Europe, Africa, America and the West Indies. Goods such as firearms and alcohol were taken from Britain to Africa in exchange for slaves. The slaves were then taken to America and the West Indies where they were exchanged for rum and sugar for the voyage back to Britain. It can be argued that the key reason for the development of the British economy in the 18th century was its role in the slave trade, although there were many other factors involved such as the industrial revolution and the British Empire. The transatlantic slave trade was extremely important to the development of the British economy in the 18th century. Slave ships needed large crews in …show more content…
The British Empire was a collection of countries around the world ruled by Britain, and each of the countries had valuable resources that could be traded with Britain such as wheat from Canada and tea from India. Also, like the slave trade, many ships were needed to transport these goods, which benefited the shipbuilding industry. Furthermore, many young people from other countries in the empire such as India came to Britain to find work, sometimes on-board ships. This gave Britain many new strong workers to do important jobs such as build railway lines or work in mines. Overall, the British Empire was an important factor in the development of the British economy in the 18th century. Much like it did during the slave trade, Britain obtained numerous valuable materials through trade and many found jobs in shipbuilding. In conclusion, the slave trade was the most important factor to the development of the British economy in the 18th century. Although the industrial revolution and trade with empire countries created many new jobs, the slave trade created jobs from shipbuilding to factory work and resulted in Britain earning many new useful materials. It also greatly improved British ports, as the money made was used to build expensive new
The sugar trade grew to be very important, very quick. Everybody wanted sugar. Many factors drove the sugar trade. It was influenced by trade philosophy, consumer demand, and economics. One factor that drove the sugar trade was because trade philosophy.
The British men gathered full control of the trading center present in the Americas, and created the Navigation Acts to help aid them in their tactics to take control over all trade within the Americas. The Navigation Acts were passed under a mercantilist system, and was used to regulate trade in a way that only benefitted the British economy. These acts restricted trade between England and its colonies to English or colonial ships, required certain colonial goods to pass through England before export, provided subsidies for the production of certain raw goods in the colonies, and banned colonial competition in large-scale manufacturing. This lowered the competition in the trading world for the British and caused the British to have a major surge in power, that greatly attributed to the growth of their rising empire. The British’s ambitious motives in the trading world help portray a way that the British took control of an important piece in the economy of all of the other nations present in the colonies in the time period, and shows another leading factor in the growth of the British empire.
While fighting for independence, it also meant that the American colonies were fighting over the territory as they need economic resources in order to achieve self-governance. The British and American colonies are closely related populations which resulted in “similar preferences over rival goods”. Furthermore, Britain’s economy was largely dependent on the production of the American colonies than those from the African colonies. By referring to the Triangular Trade, Britain’s economy is heavily dependent on the raw materials and agricultural goods to support the manufacturing sector. These manufacturing goods are then exported to America and Africa .
Exploration to the New World led to greedy rulers wanting more. There were many new resources and opportunities to make money; for example tobacco, sugar, and even minerals. Because of the demand for these crops, the Europeans needed someone to do the work. With the Native American population drastically declining, the Europeans had to find another source of labor so they turned to the African Americans. This began the slave trade where millions of slaves were taken from Africa to other areas as a source of income.
The Americas under the English and the Spanish The Americas in the mid 17th and 18th century was a hot ground for colonization potentially due to unexplored land. Colonists from all parts of the world wanted to get a taste of what it would be like to be on the American continent. Although different colonists had different motivations for creating a stronghold in America, the two most important powers come to mind: The Spanish and the English. They both had different motivations for colonizing the American continent.
Homework #4 The Transatlantic Slave Trade is one of the most unique historical events because after it occurred the world was changed forever. The way the world interacted, the way minorities were treated, and the establishment of New World powers all developed from the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Transatlantic Slave Trade lasted somewhere around four centuries, between the middle of the 15th century and the end of the 19th century. During this time period Europeans forcefully migrated men, women, and children from Africa to The Americas.
It was economically driven because the raw materials are necessary for Britain to produce goods. Those finished goods are later traded with others, including their colonies. Illustrating, that the second industrial revolution was a catalyst for economically motivated imperial
Just like the other two empires, Britain was dependent on the trade of goods for silver( Doc. 4). At the beginning of the period their trade was mostly amongst themselves, but by the end they were heavily wanting in the silver trade(Doc 8). Economically the trade of silver allowed for the shift from trade of goods to goods to goods for silver. This changed the output of silver, and the worth of goods in commodity trade.
The Industrial Revolution was one of the most positive revolutions that occurred on earth, it transformed commerce and trade, creating a surge in international trade through mechanization and mass production of goods. This led to the rise of global economic powers and spurred European imperialism as European nations sought to expand their empires and gain access to resources and new markets. This exploitation of colonized people involved the use of convict and settler labor to extract resources, while the demand for labor also led to the persistence of slavery,mainly native american/african people seen as a cheap and efficient way to meet the growing demand for goods and to enlarge their profit margin. Slavery was one of the most significant yet negative impacts during the industrial revolution. Despite increasing frustration, the economic slave system survived during the Industrial Revolution because it was compatible with rising product and labor needs.
Marielle Apronti Prof. Oscar Williams AAFS 311 4 March 2018 The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was the most important factor when considering the early development of European capitalism. The arrival of the Portuguese to the West African Coast and their establishment of trading and slave ports throughout the continent set in stone a trend of exploitation of Africa 's labor and human resources. Europeans greatly benefited from the Trans-Atlantic trade, as it allowed them to aggregate raw materials such as sugar and cotton to manufacture products that funded the Industrial Revolution. In the book “Capitalism and Slavery” by Eric Williams he addresses the origin of “Negro” history, the economic and political impact of slavery in Great Britain, the role of the American Revolution and the decline of slavery in Great Britain.
From the seventeenth to the eighteenth century, the British Empire was the biggest power in the world. Some said that the sun never set on the British Empire because of its greatness, and Britain wanted to continue growing. To do this they tried to regulate trade to favor them. This principle of creating a favorable export and import balance is mercantilism. Mercantilism shaped the life of eighteenth century Colonial America by regulating their trade, by economically weakening them and putting them in debt, and by socially creating the tensions that led to the Revolutionary War.
However, growing imports to the country required more exports from the country as well to avoid a trade deficit. Fortunately, colonies in the Americas helped to produce essential resources, such as cotton, rice, and other valuable cash crops, used for both English exports and domestic use. Slaves in American colonies helped to boost the English economy by efficiently producing more of these goods, especially harvesting cotton and tobacco, with lower costs. However, one drawback was that American slavery was uniquely associated with race, and racism later became an issue throughout history that continues to be a problem today (Royal Museums Greenwich). The world trade network created by Queen Elizabeth aided in the creation of ties between the English empire and other parts of the world.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade impacted and changed the world by misplacing and separating thousands of individuals from their families and homes. Thousands of people lost their lives when they were abducted and forced into slavery. Many did not survive the ship rides to the Americas. Many were murdered and tortured. Some were thrown of boats and died from diseases caught on the ship.
Britain’s multitude of natural resource like coal, cotton and iron was the one of the main factors that allowed the industrial revolution to start in Britain. Also
Great Britain had the ability to rapid the pace and cheapened the cost of carriage of raw materials and finished products such as clothes. Therefore, navigable rivers and canals made world trade possible by transporting raw materials to European countries. In addition, European countries took advantage of shipbuilding,