6.1) the atlantic trade Flashcards
(40 cards)
1
Q
what is a monopoly?
A
the exclusive right to trade and profit from an area of business
2
Q
chattel enslavement
A
a form of slavery where the person is bought and becomes movable property and no longer considered to be human
3
Q
asiento
A
permission given by the spanish government to other countries to sell slaves to spanish colonies in the americas for 30 years
4
Q
what was the triangular trade?
A
- a three ways system of trade during the 1600s-1800s
- 1) africa sent slaves to america 2) america sent raw materials to europe 3) europe sent guns and rum to africa
5
Q
what was the middle passage?
A
- the voyage that slaves had to take
- it went from africa, across the atlantic, to the west indies or colonial america
- it was named so because it was the middle portion of triangular trade route
- many slaves did not survive the journey
6
Q
how did the RAC gain a monopoly?
A
- the royal charter that set the company up gave it a monopoly on english trade with africa
- this meant that no one else could profit from it and no other companies were allowed to be involved
- the majority of the profits went to charles II (brother of james II)
7
Q
what was the headquarters of the british trade in enslaved africans?
A
cape coast castle
8
Q
what was the RAC?
A
- royal african company - a business created by the stuart royal family and their friends
- many of the african people they bought had the initials DY branded onto them, to show that they were the property of the duke of york
9
Q
how/from where did the british control the the trade in enslaved africans?
A
- it was organised from fortresses along the west african coast - they had 17 castles along the coast
- british ships guns, clothes and iron goods in exchange for gold, ivory and spices and mainly kidnapped and enslaved african people
- between 1672 and 1713 they sent 500 ships to africa, exported goods worth up to 1.5 mil and enslaved 125,000 africans
- 1/5 of those died during the journey and 100,000 were sold to planters in america
10
Q
how were these forts built?
A
- they could only be built with the permission of the africans
- the colonising nations - britain, the netherlands, portugal and france - weren’t strong enough to conquer and control the land so they somewhat “rented” it from their local rulers
11
Q
what is a royal charter?
A
- granted by the king
- defines an organisation’s objectives and constitutes its power to govern its own affairs
12
Q
when did the RAC end monopoly and why? what was a contradiction to this idea?
A
- 1689 the triangular trade was opened up to business - after james II was deposed on the glorious revolution of 1688
- they argued that if private businesses were allowed to join, the business would boom and more profit would flow back to england
- the freedom and equality that the merchants wanted WAS the freedom of being able to take away the rights and liberties of africans and enslave them
13
Q
what were effects of the monopoly ending?
A
- private businesses began to control the slave trade, which bought lots of wealth to britain but devastation to certain parts of africa
- some african and rulers also profited greatly
- as demand for slave-produced goods grew, so did the demand for labour - hence the slave trade grew
14
Q
impact of chattel enslavement on west africa
A
- many people were captured in wars between states which were fought using ammunition supplied by the europeans
- traditional african industruies were in decline - even those along the major trade routes
- the economic gap between the two continents widened as young able-bodied workers from africa were captured to work in europe
- africa wasn’t new to slavery but chattel slavery was more inhumane as slaves were not recognised and were only seen as a objects to be bought or sold
- around 10-12 million people were killed in wars, kidnappings and in coastal prisons
- the west african economy became dominated by a system which profited the europeans at the expense of africa
15
Q
when was the treaty of utrecht signed?
A
1713 - nearing the end of the war of the spanish succession
16
Q
what was the treaty of utrecht?
A
- spain had control over most of south and central america + mexico and cuba and it wanted cheap labour from africa for its plantations
- it couldn’t build forts or buy african labour due to a treaty signed with portugal (1494) after the war of spanish succession
- therefore spain gave ASIENTO to britain to be provided with slaves - this eventually established britain as a major slave trading nation
17
Q
what kind of challenges did the triangular trade face?
A
- resistance from africa
- uprisings on slave ships
- piracy
18
Q
resistance of africa
A
- some african rulers opposed human trafficking and even fought against it
- agaja, king of modern benin attacked and destroyed european forts
- many who were captured tried to run away and some succeeded
19
Q
uprisings on slave ships
A
- 500 such rebellions took place , where captives tried to take control of the ship
- example: in 1730 little george where captives took control and eventually escaped
20
Q
piracy
A
- after the spanish war of succession, may men were laid off and wages fell therefore there were too many men seeking few opportunities
- working conditions for sailors were awful and the death rate was high
- there were several mutinies by sailors on slave ships and many of them chose to become pirates
- many pirate crews were diverse (as some pirate were freed slaves) and were run democratically and non-racially
- offered more freedom than ever under british rule until the 1722 law against pirates
21
Q
how did the plantations start?
A
- settlers started clearing land for cultivation, experimenting with crops such as cotton and tobacco
- tobacco plantations were set up in virginia on land that had been stolen from the native americans
- rich landowners started to buy up smallholdings to create bigger plantations that were supported by investors and banks in england
22
Q
who settled in barbados and st. kitts? and when?
A
- the island of barbados was uninhabited when the english and dutch settlers started clearing the land for cultivation in the 1620s
- the english and french forced invaded st. kitts and seized it from its natives
23
Q
plantations
A
large estates in america producing crops such as tobacco, cotton and sugar
24
Q
indentured labour
A
workers in forced employment, unable to leave until their period of indenture was over
25
why did plantation owners prefer to use indentured (convict) labour?
- they spoke the same language as their masters
- they were cheaper - half the price of enslaved africans
- had hopes of being freed which meant that they would work harder
26
how did the numbers of african people working on the plantations increase?
english carribean 42% to 81% (1660-1700)
english north america 2% to 13.1%
27
what was the average price paid by planters for an enslaved african?
in 1700 the price was about £300 (today)
28
why did plantation owners start preferring african workers?
- coped better with the climate and lived longer whilst the european servants had a high death rate
- their agricultural skills had been developed in a similar climate whereas the euopeans were unable to work in such an environment with subpar agricultural skills
- they were more resourceful and self-reliant whilst the european convicts were somewhat dangerous and unpredictable
- faster at acquiring skills and much more productive because they were threatened with lashings if they did not
- cheaper to clothe and maintain; as wages rose in england, indentured european servants became more expensive
- higher numbers of workers were needed and there were many enslaved people
- because they were 'owned' they and their children were the planter's permanent property
- could be sold on
29
plantocracy
a society governed and controlled by plantation owners, backed up by military force and the law
30
why did the government support plantations?
- access to raw materials: valuable crops (sugar, tobacco, cotton) for sale in britain and overseas
- new markets in the colonies for british goods eg, iron tools
- work opportunities at a time when there weren't enough jobs in england
- economic and strategic advantage over other european powers
- large profits for businesses which could then be invested into new projects
- money, through taxation, so that the government could spend more on armed forces and expanding the empire
31
why were large plantations economically viable?
- they were highly organised businesses
- used the latest technological advances
- every activity was maximised towards gaining a profit
- they made use of a factory system; cultivation, manufacture 1, manufacture 2 and transportation and sale
32
demand, supply and profit cycle of the plantation system
1) more and more people in britain wanted to buy sugar > profit for the merchants
2) to meet this demand, planters needed more enslaved afrucans from the african west coast > profit for the slave traders
3) more sugar was produced in the carribean plantations > profit for the plantation owners
4) increased shipments of sugar across the atlantic to britain > profit for shipping companies
5) in britain, those who profited had more spending powers > more money to spend on luxuries
33
arguments that the slave system was not an economic success
- as they were unpaid, they weren't motivated to work hard
- planters could not hire and fire their employees
- enslaved africans regularly rebelled, ran away or sabotaged the business
- the system itself was difficult to manage, the workers were hard to control and profits were not huge. in the end investors realised this and it was one of the reasons the slave trade was finally abolished
- system would've worked better under free european labour
34
arguments that the plantations were highly successful
- they were efficient, effective and modern businesses
- over their lifetime, enslaved workers produced far more profit than the cost of buying them
- planters with enslaved workers made more profit than planters with free workers
- the plantation system was the first example of a highly organised mass workforce on a production line so it paved the way for the industrial age
35
why did planters have to separate the enslaved workers and the european servants?
they feared that some of the indentured workers had found common ground with their fellow african workers. soemtimes uprisings involved servants and enslaved africans working together, which worried the planters.
- 1686 irish indentured workers were accused of 'being concerned and privy to the late intended risings of the n* to destroy all masters and mistresses'
36
what were the measures taken to separate the servants from the enslaved?
- harsher treatment and sometimes through slave laws
- while both were punished, africans were often treated more severely than europeans
37
why did the number of european indentured workers decline?
- the traffic in enslaved africans was growing and there was a shortage of skilled workers in europe
38
who were the marroons?
- a group of escaped africans in jamaica who formed a community of runaways
- they welcomed new runaways and fought guerilla wars against the planters
- eventually in 1739 they signed a compromise treaty to end the first marroon war
39
when was slavery first challenged by a representative assembly?
- in 1712 after a slave rebellion in new york, some members of the pennysylvania assembly proposed that all slaves in the colony should be freed
- the proposal was rejected, however the assembly agreed to impose a higher charge on buyers for each enslaved person
- but in the end higher authorities reduced that charge so it wasn't as effective
40
what was the 1722 act of suppression of piracy?
an act to suppress piracy
