Unit 2 Topic 4: Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism (1607–1754)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture on the transatlantic trade, mercantilism, the triangular trade, and its societal effects.

Triangular trade

A three-part Atlantic route where New England ships carried rum to West Africa, exchanged it for enslaved people, transported them via the Middle Passage to the Americas, and returned with sugar and rum.

Middle Passage

The brutal sea voyage that enslaved Africans endured as they were transported from Africa to the Americas.

Rum

A distilled product of sugarcane traded from New England to West Africa as part of the triangular trade.

Sugarcane

Caribbean cash crop imported to New England and used to produce rum, fueling the triangular trade.

British West Indies

Caribbean colonies where enslaved laborers were sold in exchange for sugarcane.

Mercantilism

Economic theory that wealth is finite and nations should maximize exports and minimize imports to accumulate gold and silver.

Fixed wealth (gold and silver)

Mercantilist idea that global wealth is limited and measured by precious metals.

Favorable balance of trade

A situation where exports exceed imports, increasing a country’s wealth in gold and silver.

Exports vs imports

Exports bring wealth into a country; imports drain wealth; mercantilists aimed to export more than they import.

Colonies (in mercantilism)

Territories used for obtaining raw materials and serving as markets for the mother country’s goods.

Raw materials

Natural resources from colonies (like sugar) used in the mother country’s manufacturing.

Markets for manufactured goods

Colonies and other destinations that buy the finished products of the mother country.

Navigation Acts

British laws requiring colonial trade to use English ships and pass through British ports to maximize wealth.

Consumer revolution

A surge in the consumption of goods in the colonies, shifting social status from family lineage to wealth and refined tastes.

Urban seaports

Growing colonial port cities that became wealthier and more influential due to transatlantic trade.

Slave Trade Act 1788 (Dolben Act)

British legislation that limited the number of enslaved people that could be transported on slave ships.

Global trade network

The interconnected Atlantic economy linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas under mercantilist principles.