Slavery Flashcards
(20 cards)
What produce were In C17, Dutch, French and English interested in?
with molasses (liquid raw sugar), tobacco, cotton and coffee.
What produce were In C17, Portugese interested in?
spices, gold and sugar, Spanish were more interested in metals.
When were slaves used by portugese
Late 15c black Africans used by portugese
Did Christians and Muslims use slaves? Should they?
Slavery had existed for some time in Mediterranean and N. Africa, with Christians and Muslims selling religious prisoners into slavery (though both religions banned it)
What was the triangular system?
Management of slaves over immense distances v. difficult logistically; depends on availability.
Slaves were part of an economic system and were valued primarily as economic entities.
A ‘triangular’ economic system: ships with ‘finished’ (i.e. manufactured) commodities sailed to Africa, and then slaves were taken to the Caribbean. Ships then sailed back to Europe with raw materials.
What other slave trade system was there?
A secondary system operated between Africa, the Caribbean and New England. Rum and goods were taken straight from N. America to Africa.
Discuss tobacco and slave trade
English ships entered Caribbean from mid-1580s, private ventures backed in only small part by Crown. Already some English colonies in Caribbean in 1620s.
Tobacco cultivation took off in response to demand, and to the vogue for smoking as a health drug. Tobacco production rose from 65 thousand lbs p.a. 1620 to 220 million lbs p.a. in 1670s.
Massively profitable: main centres of production in C18 became Virginia and Maryland.
Discuss sugar in the slave trade
West India Company sold increasing amounts of slaves to Barbadian planters in 1640s and 1650s.
By 1660, sugar exports rivalled entire production of Brazil.
Sugar cultivation rose continually to satisfy demand for sweeteners in C17 and C18; main centres are in Barbados and in C18, Jamaica.
Sugar exports rise 10-fold 1700-1800.
Profits were massive, at 10-12% per trip, and pour into stately homes and economy throughout C18.
Which port in Britain was the largest for slave trade
London leading British slave port in late C17, but new ports took advantage from 1700.
Was slave trade privatised in Britain
es but it was sanctioned by the state
Which ports were leading after london in 1700
Bristol became leading British slave port 1730-50 peaking at 30 sailings a year.
In late C18 Liverpool took over, with peak of 100 vessels leaving per annum in 1770s.
Which products relied soley on the slave trade
Representations of elites show West Indian sugar, Mexican chocolate, American cotton, Indian pepper, Brazilian coffee, Chinese porcelain, Virginian tobacco, African servants. Most of these products relied entirely on slaves for production. However, as prices fell, these became much more commonly included in the diet of the lower classes.
Who was Thomas Thistlewood 1721-1786
Lived 1721-1786
An overseer or manager of a Jamaica plantation from 1750;
Constant threat of slave revolt in late C18; whites outnumbered 9 to 1.
Many slaves had guns and access to alcohol – also owned land but they were not protected by law.
Masters were supposed to exercise justice and humanity; punishments were extremely brutal.
T. records all acts of sexual intercourse (c.3900) with 138 women 1750-86. White men considered to have free rein over their own slaves.
NB – Question of agency of slaves
Why does Walvin believe the slave trade was abolished?
He focusses on the Quaker campaign when they created petitions in 1787 starting at 500 signatories which by 1791 had an astonishing 400,000 signatories attempting to abolish slavery (Walvin, Britain’s Slave Empire, 2000)
Quote Walvin on the effect the enlightenment had on abolition of slave trade
‘Human institutions needed to be explained and justified, and few attracted more obvious and fundamental examinations than slavery itself’ (Walvin, Ending Slavery, 1996) .
Do all Historians agree the economy was still booming for the slave trade in Britain til its end
Walvin, Drescher and Martin do but David Beck Ryder doesn’t
Who does Drescher believe was mainly responsible fortrade being abolished?
the period between 1791 and 1792 which he calls the ‘second wave’. In his opinion it was the work of Clarkson and Dickson, leaders of the London Committee, touring England and Scotland respectively with evidence of the mis-treatment of the slaves which fuelled others to join the petition against the slave trade. Drescher believes it was this work that raised the signatories on the petition to that of 400,000.
What does Martin add to the debate which slightly differes?
Martin puts forward an argument that an increase in art and literature in the mid 18th century depicted ‘Black people…as fellow human beings with bodies that can suffer and souls which can be saved’ (Martin, 1996) . He shows several pieces of art from that period which certainly provides a good visual guide and gives the reader the understanding how these very probably would have had an impact on the British people and how their views towards slavery could have been affected.
What does David Beck Ryden focus on in respect of abolition of slave trade
West Indian Slavery and British Abolition 1783 to 1807, focuses his argument that slavery in Britain was abolished due to the decline of the sugar economy.
Why does David Beck Ryden believe the economy failed
the American Revolution being responsible for a large rise in the cost of sugar.
‘increased the costs of provisioning and maintaining plantation slaves while creating immediate and long-term difficulties in shipping sugar to European markets’
the increase in sugar colonies which sold their sugar at a much cheaper rate than the West Indian colonies
‘As highly productive Cuban soils came into production, the increase in the supply of high-grade muscovado allowed sugar bakers to become more discriminating. They rejected much of the produce from Jamaica except at the lowest of prices’ (Ryden, 2009)
