4.7 Economic impacts of slave trade

Mercantilism

Older government controlled economic system. A “Command Economy”.

Two Keys

1.  Protect chartered trade with military

2. Demand the accumulation of gold and silver in home country through payments, fees and taxes

Capitalism

• Newer, developing economic profit system of large institutions that allow management of large amounts of $ (Banks)

• Relies on free market, entrepreneurs and few govt. restrictions and controls

What was the leave businessman alone philosophy?

“Lassez Faire”

What are the four capitalist institutions?

• Joint-Stock Companies

• Banks

• stock exchanges

• chartered companies

What were Insurance Companies?

• Insurance purchased to reduce risks of overseas trading failures/accidents

• Sold by banks company who uses premiums for more investments

What were the two mercantile policies of England and France?

1. English Navigation Acts = confine trade to English ships and cargo

2. Exclusif = French system of laws that regulated trade

What are the english navigation acts?

to confine trade to English ships and cargo

What is “Exclusif”?

French system of laws that regulated trade

Royal African Company

• British Company chartered by English government to conduct trade along African Atlantic coast

• Established 1st British base in Africa at Cape Coast

• Gulf of Guinea

Great Atlantic Circuit

clock-wise network of trade in the Atlantic Basin

1st leg of voyage

Manufactured goods leave from Europe and arrive in Africa where they are traded for slaves.

2nd leg of voyage (Middle passage)

slaves leave from Africa and arrive in New World (6-10 weeks inside ship) where they are traded for raw resources

3rd leg of voyage

Plantation goods from colonies leave New World  headed to Europe.

1500-1650

800,000 slaves arrive in New World during first 150 years after European discovery.

1650-1800 (sugar boom)

jumps to 7.5 million  slaves imported next 150 years

What was the #1 cause of death on ships

disease

How many slaves are lost in Middle passage?

10-15%

How many slaves die in seasoning

15-30%

Gold and slave coasts

• Partnership between European traders and African elites

• Africans provide slaves + European’s trading g*ns and textiles = regional wars

What partnership was the gold and slave coast between

European traders and African elites

What will inevitably happen in Africa, now that Europe has discovered it?

Europeans in Africa will spread conflict, violence and wars amongst the natives

Songhai

Muslim kingdom that drew wealth from trans-Saharan trade.

What did songhai do when attacked by kingdom of morocco?

Without firearms they are forced to submit and pay tribute in gold and slaves.

1591

Songhai attacked by Northern kingdom of Morocco backed by Portuguese slavers

Hausa

• Muslim trading cities of the Central Sudan

• Gold, textiles, leather goods and slaves were traded for hardware and weapons from the North

• Soldier and servant slaves were sold to the Indian Ocean and Middle East markets

What did Hausa trade for hardware and weapons from the north?

Gold, textiles, leather goods and slaves

What types of slaves were sold to Indian ocean and Middle east markets?

Soldier and servant slaves

How many slaves sold in 1600-1800?

approx. 850,000

Kanem Bornu

• Important in Trans-Saharan trade

• Central role in spreading Islam

• King Mai Ali (r. 1642-1667) traveled 4 times to Mecca with 15,000 slaves.

• Slavery was seen as a good way to bring pagans to Islam. 

How was slavery seen for Kanem Bornu?

• a good way to bring pagans to Islam. 

What was the Central role in spreading Islam?

Kanem-Bornu

Dahomey

• Small African state most reliant on slave trade!

• Prime example of African kingdom that exported captured prisoners with help from Europeans

Which African Kingdom exported captured prisoners with help from Europeans?

Dahomey

Which areas did west coast hit the hardest?

• Larger Kingdoms involved in slave wars

• Prisoners of war sold

• Bight (Bay) of Biafra

Inland areas less impact:

• Smaller kingdoms

• No regional wars

• experienced kidnappings to supply slave trade

Angola

• The greatest source of slaves for the Atlantic trade system.

• droughts caused refugees to head North right into slave war regions

How were most slaves in the Islamic world used?

As soldiers or servants

What did the Islamic law forbid?

The enslavement of Muslims

The Majority of African slaves in Islamic trade were…

Women for concubines and servants

Which Islamic slave trade was smaller, European, or African?

African

Which areas lost more?

Areas near slave coast

Even at peak, the population of Africa remained…

Large

What was the impact on new foods from the Americas?

Helped to offset population losses with increased birthrates

Why was population loss reduced?

Because more men were taken than women