Impact of Empire - The Economic Impact Flashcards
What event occurred in February 1722 involving a Royal Navy warship and Bartholomew Roberts?
The Royal Navy warship attacked the fleet of Bartholomew Roberts, resulting in Roberts’ death.
What happened to the captured crew members after Roberts’ fleet was attacked?
Some were executed, while others were enslaved and forced to work for the Royal African Company.
Why did merchants pressure Parliament to pass the Act for the Suppression of Piracy in 1722?
Merchants were losing valuable ships and cargo, particularly in the slave trade, as pirate crews captured nearly 100 slave ships, disrupting the triangular trade.
What was the fate of the crew members who escaped from Bartholomew Roberts’ fleet?
Many were captured and taken to Cape Coast Castle, where some were executed and others were enslaved.
How did pirate crews disrupt the triangular trade?
Pirate crews captured slave ships, causing significant losses to merchants involved in the slave trade.
What was the monetary value of the ships and cargo lost due to piracy in the early 1720s?
The losses were estimated to be over £100,000, equivalent to about £14 million today.
What was the main purpose of Cape Coast Castle?
Cape Coast Castle primarily served as a fortress to imprison captured African women, men, and children and load them onto ships for slavery.
How was Cape Coast Castle defended?
It had 4-metre-thick brick walls and was defended by 74 cannons pointing across the ocean in case of attacks by the Dutch or French.
What resources were exchanged at Cape Coast Castle?
Ships exchanged cargoes for gold, ivory, mahogany hardwood, and spices, in addition to loading human beings captured for slavery.
What were the conditions like for the captured individuals held at Cape Coast Castle?
They were forced to spend weeks or even months in disease-ridden, overcrowded, windowless underground slave holes.
What was one of the reasons Europeans sailed to West Africa?
Africa’s wealth in resources such as gold, ivory, mahogany hardwood, and spices attracted European traders to the region.
In addition to serving as a fortress, what other activities took place at Cape Coast Castle?
In addition to imprisonment and loading slaves onto ships, some ships exchanged cargoes for valuable resources to take back to England.
What was the Royal African Company (RAC)?
The Royal African Company was a business created by the Stuart royal family and their associates for their personal gain, with a monopoly on English trade with Africa.
Where did the RAC’s profits go?
A large portion of the profits went to King Charles II, brother of James II, who was the king at the time, through the monopoly on trade with Africa.
What was the significance of the elephant and castle logo of the Royal African Company?
The logo was used by the Royal African Company and became associated with many London pubs and eventually an area of south London.
How did Europeans establish control over the land in Africa where they traded?
They did not conquer and control the land but instead obtained permission from local rulers to build forts and conduct trade along the coast.
What were the key statistics regarding the Royal African Company’s activities between 1672 and 1713?
During that period, the RAC sent 500 ships to Africa, exported goods worth £1.5 million, bought 125,000 Africans, with one-fifth dying on the ocean journey, and 100,000 sold to planters in the Americas.
What event led to the end of the Royal African Company (RAC) monopoly?
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 provided English merchants and businessmen with the opportunity to end the RAC monopoly.
What was the argument made by merchants and entrepreneurs to end the RAC monopoly?
They argued that opening up the Africa trade to independent companies would lead to increased business and profits flowing back to England.
What happened to the RAC’s monopoly in 1698?
The Royal African Company lost its monopoly, and the triangular trade was opened up to private businesses.
How did the triangular trade benefit those involved?
The ships carried goods from England to exchange for enslaved Africans, who were then transported to the Americas and sold. The ships then returned to England with cargoes of sugar, tobacco, and other goods to sell.
What job opportunities did the ‘FACTORIES’ (trading centers) on the African coast provide?
The factories employed various skills, including administrators, clerks, soldiers, sailors, doctors, carpenters, cooks, and gardeners.
How did the Royal African Company employ free Africans?
They had free Africans on their payroll, some of whom maintained the factories, while others served as soldiers.
How did the demand for goods from the Americas impact the slave trade?
As the demand for goods such as sugar, tobacco, and other products from the Americas grew in Britain, the demand for labor also increased, leading to the capture and enslavement of millions of Africans.
What impact did the ACCESSION of William III have on the slave trade?
While the ACCESSION of William III was beneficial for English commerce, it was disastrous for Africans who suffered from economic, political, and humanitarian consequences due to enslavement.
What were some consequences of the slave trade on African communities?
The slave trade caused wars between communities as they fought each other to capture prisoners of war to sell to Europeans, leading to further destabilization and conflict.
Which age group was primarily affected by the slave trade?
The slave trade primarily targeted young adults, the strongest and most productive age group, causing significant demographic impacts on African societies.
How did the demand for labor in the Americas impact the scale of the slave trade?
The demand for labor in the Americas led to the capture and enslavement of millions of Africans to meet the increasing labor demands of industries such as sugar and tobacco production.
What were some consequences of the slave trade beyond economic considerations?
The slave trade also had political and humanitarian consequences, including the destabilization of African communities through wars fought to capture prisoners for sale to Europeans.
What characterized the new system of chattel enslavement introduced by Europeans in West Africa?
Chattel enslavement treated enslaved individuals as property that could be bought and sold, disregarding their humanity.
How did the arrival of Europeans impact the traditional system of slavery in Africa?
While slavery existed in Africa before European arrival, the new system of chattel enslavement differed by dehumanizing enslaved individuals and treating them as property.
What were some consequences of the European-dominated global system on West Africa?
The West African economy became dominated by a system that created vast profits for Europeans at Africa’s expense, leading to devastating humanitarian effects, decline of traditional industries, and loss of population.
What role did wars play in contributing to the slave trade in West Africa?
Wars between states, often fought with guns bought from Europeans, resulted in the capture of many individuals who were then sold into chattel enslavement.
How did the slave trade impact the economic gap between Europe and Africa?
The slave trade widened the economic gap between Europe and Africa by weakening Africa, taking away young and able-bodied individuals, and strengthening Europe.
What were some traditional African industries that declined or dissolved due to the slave trade?
Traditional African industries along trade routes crossing the continent from east to west and from south to north declined or dissolved as a result of the slave trade.
What was the Treaty of Utrecht, and when was it signed?
The Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, marked the end of the War of the Spanish Succession and established Britain as the major slave-trading nation.
What was the purpose of the Treaty of Utrecht for Spain and other European colonial powers?
Spain, like other colonial powers, sought cheap labor from Africa for its plantations, but it was restricted by a treaty signed with Portugal in 1494.
What was the significance of the Asiento agreements mentioned in the Treaty of Utrecht?
The Asiento agreements allowed Spain to obtain slaves from Africa through agreements with other nations, such as Britain, which granted them control over the slave trade
How did the Treaty of Utrecht benefit Britain in terms of the slave trade?
Britain gained control over the Asiento, granting them the right to supply slaves to Spanish colonies for 30 years, which in turn allowed Britain to dominate the Atlantic trade.
What did the British government do with the rights granted under the Treaty of Utrecht?
The British government passed the rights to supply slaves to Spanish colonies to the newly created South Seas Company.
What did the South Seas Company receive in exchange for supplying slaves to Spanish colonies?
In exchange for supplying human beings, the company received gold and silver bullion from Spain, which could be used in trade with India.
What were some challenges faced by the triangular trade?
Challenges included resistance in Africa from rulers opposing human trafficking, uprisings on slave ships, and piracy resulting from lay-offs in the Royal Navy after the War of the Spanish Succession.
What resistance did African rulers pose to the slave trade?
Some African rulers opposed human trafficking and even attacked and destroyed European forts, while kidnapped individuals attempted to run away from captivity.
How did lay-offs in the Royal Navy contribute to piracy?
Lay-offs in the Royal Navy led to an excess of sailors seeking jobs, resulting in reduced wages and poor working conditions, prompting many sailors to become pirates.
What were some examples of uprisings on slave ships during the triangular trade?
Examples include the 1729 uprising on the Clare, where captives forced the crew off the ship and reached safety, and the 1730 uprising on the Little George, where captives sailed the ship up the Sierra Leone River and escaped.
How did conditions on slave ships contribute to the rise of piracy?
Appalling treatment of sailors, including low wages, poor quality food, and high death rates, led many sailors to choose piracy as an alternative, resulting in mutinies on slave ships and the formation of pirate crews.
What was the impact of the 1722 law against pirates on the pirate crews?
The law against pirates ended the democratic and non-racial structures of some pirate ships, forcing many pirates to operate under harsher conditions and perpetuating a fabricated image of pirates as scary and bloodthirsty.
What was the initial state of Barbados before English and Dutch settlers arrived in the 1620s?
Barbados was uninhabited after the original inhabitants were killed or died of disease following the Spanish invasion a century earlier.
How did settlers in the Caribbean, such as in St Kitts, acquire land for cultivation?
Settlers in places like St Kitts seized land from native populations, such as the Kalinagos, and started clearing it for cultivation.
What were some of the crops initially experimented with by settlers in the Caribbean?
Settlers in the Caribbean experimented with crops such as tobacco and cotton before eventually switching to sugar cane.
What prompted the switch from tobacco to sugar cane in Barbados and other Caribbean islands?
The poorer quality of tobacco grown in Barbados, coupled with the fertile, well-watered soils, prompted planters to switch to sugar cane, which grew well in those conditions.
How did plantation agriculture evolve in the Caribbean by the 1690s?
By the 1690s, plantation agriculture in the Caribbean, particularly in Barbados, had evolved into efficient and thriving businesses, with larger plantations owned by richer landowners and merchants.
What impact did plantations in Barbados and Virginia have on the development of agriculture in North America and the Caribbean?
Plantations in Barbados and Virginia set the model for plantation agriculture across the North American eastern seaboard and the islands of the Caribbean, shaping the economic and social landscape of the region.
What is the middle passage?
the journey from Africa to the Caribbean endured by enslaved Africans.
What characterized the plantation workforce in Virginia and Barbados in the mid-seventeenth century?
In the mid-seventeenth century, the plantation workforce in Virginia and Barbados consisted of more indentured workers or convicts than enslaved Africans.
What were some advantages for planters in employing White workers instead of enslaved Africans?
Advantages included shared language with masters, lower cost (half the price of enslaved Africans), and the potential for positive and hardworking attitudes due to hopes of a better future once freed.
What factors contributed to the rising proportion of Africans on plantations by the end of the seventeenth century?
By the end of the seventeenth century, the proportion of Africans on plantations was rising fast due to factors such as increasing demand for labor and declining availability of White indentured workers or convicts.
What challenges did indentured workers often face, particularly in the Caribbean?
Indentured workers often faced harsh treatment and high mortality rates, especially in the Caribbean, where many died of disease.
What is meant by the term “plantocracy”?
The term “plantocracy” refers to societies in the Caribbean and North American colonies that were controlled and governed by wealthy planters, backed by military force and the law.
How did the plantation system evolve over time?
The plantation system evolved from smallholdings to large plantations dominated by wealthy merchants and businessmen who bought up smaller farms.
What factors contributed to the support of the plantation economy by the government in London?
Factors included access to valuable raw materials, new markets for British goods, work opportunities, economic and strategic advantages over other European powers, large profits for businesses, and revenue through taxation.
What was the economic significance of Barbados in relation to plantation economies?
Barbados became Britain’s richest colony and demonstrated the economic viability of large plantations.
How were plantations organized as businesses?
Plantations were highly organized businesses that utilized the latest technological advances and were geared towards maximizing profit in every aspect of their operations.
What were some reasons for the strong support of the plantation economy by the government in London?
The government supported the plantation economy for reasons such as economic prosperity, strategic advantage, revenue generation through taxation, and expansion of the British empire.
What role did the slave trade play in providing labor for plantations?
The slave trade provided plantations with permanent, indefinite free labor, facilitating the need for cheap workers.
What pressures did farmers face regarding slave ownership?
Fierce competition led many farmers to feel pressure to own enslaved workers, as stated by the council of St Kitts planters in 1680 comparing it to the Egyptians making bricks without straw.
What were some conditions faced by enslaved Africans on plantations?
Enslaved Africans in Barbados were unpaid and had to grow half their own food on small plots they were given, minimizing the cost of maintaining them.
What were the economic benefits for plantation owners in training enslaved Africans?
Plantation owners could reap the rewards of training an enslaved African for the rest of their lives, as their labor was permanent and free.
