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transatlantic slave trade
england exchanged goods for slaves in africa
then slaves are sold in the americas
and then goods from the americas are taken back to england
what was the royal africa company?
company selling slaves
created by the stuart royal family for their own personal gain
how did the RAC have a monopoly?
because of the Royal Charter that set up the Company, no one else was allowed to profit and no other companies could get involved
headquarters of RAC
the fortress of cape coast castle
cape coast castle
- ghana
- main purpose was to imprison captured african people and load them onto ships
- the slaves would be forced to spend weeks or months in disease-ridden, overcrowded, windowless underground 'slave holes' in the castle
what did the RAC achieve with their monopoly?
Exported goods worth £1.5 million
examples of goods that RAC traded from africa
gold
ivory
mahogany hardwood
example of how terrible living conditions were for slaves
RAC bought 125,000 africans. of these, 1/5 died on the journey
when did RAC lose it's monopoly?
1698
why did the RAC lose it's monopoly?
after the glorious revolution, william had agreed to move power away from the monarch and towards the commercial world of merchants and private entrepreneurs.
So, in 1698, the triangular trade was opened up to private businesses
who benefitted from the transatlantic slave trade?
everyone involved in the trade profited.
the trading centres on the african coast provided job opportunites for a range of skills at a time of high unemployment in England
RAC records show that they had free africans on their payroll too
when was the treaty of utrecht?
1713
terms of the treaty of utrecht
established britain as the major slave-trading nation
granted britain the asiento
asiento
under a treaty signed by portugal, spain was not allowed to build forts or buy labour on the african coast.
So, in exchange for gold bullion from the spanish (which could then be used in trade with india) england would give the spanish their slaves
what company was set up in order to trade gold bullion with the spanish?
The South Sea Company
south sea company
after britain was given the right to the asiento, britain funnelled this pwoer into the private company to make the most of it's profits
when was the south sea company set up?
1711
why did people rush to buy shares in teh company
- government approved the company's scheme to minimise and manage National Debt
- company published propaganda
- the company artificially increased the share price to make it seem very successfull
side effects of the rise of the 'south sea bubble'
- thousands of people invested their savings into the company
- there was a lot of corrupt insider dealing by people in the company
when did the 'bubble' burst?
1720
how the 'bubble' burst
- the company lent large amounts to people so that they could buy shares
- some shareholders, realising the share value was far too high for the company to support, started selling their shares
- as people sold their shares, their value decreased, so other shareholders panicked. there was a rush as everyone tried to sell their shares
- as the company didn't have the money to pay people back, most shareholders lost all their money and the company collapsed
effects of the collapse
- large numbers of people suffered- many lost all their life savings
- bubble act
bubble act
1720
from now on any new company needed to be granted a royal charter
chattel enslavement
did not recognise the enslaved as human beings, but as commodities that could be bought and sold
slave owners would even brand their slaves
impact of enslavement on west africa
- the loss of population had a devastating humanitarian impact
- traditional african industries declined and dissolved
- created a widening economic gap between Europe and Africa and took away the young, able-bodied people, weakening africa and strengthening europe
what challenges did the triangular trade present?
- resistance in africa
- uprisings on slave ships
- piracy
resistance in africa + slave rebellions
- some african rulers fought against human trafficking, attacking and destroying european forts
- slave rebellions were common (see later flashcards)
uprisings on slave ships
there were more than 500 rebellions on slave ships
cause of piracy
after the war of spanish succession, many men from the navy were laid off. as a result, there weren't enough jobs so may men turned to piracy.
additionally, the living standards of sailors working on slave ships were so poor that many sailors chose to become pirates
pirate crewws
many pirate crews were multi-racial and multinational, including africans freed from slave ships.
consequence of piracy
due to the damage that piracy was doing on the slave trade, capturing 100 slave ships in the early 1720s, the 1722 Suppression of Piracy Act was passed, calling for the imprisonment and execution of pirates
what was grown on the plantations in the americas?
cotton
tobacco
sugar
who mainly worked on plantations in the mid-1600s
indentured servants
convicts
what happened in plantations between 1660-1700
most indentured servants died of disease, and the percentage of black population in the Caribbean doubled
advantages of enslaved african workers
- price was going down, encouraging plantation owners to buy more
- because they were 'owned', they and their children were the planter's permanent property
disadvantages of european servants
- temporary
- as wages rose in england, indentured servants became more expensive
- high death rate
plantocracy definition
societies controlled and governed by and for the planters, backed up by military force and law
dominated by wealthy merchants and businessmen
why did plantocracies have such strong support from the government?
- access to cash crops that could be sold in britain and overseas
- work opportunities at a time of high unemployment in britain
- economic and strategic advance over other european powers
how did enslaved workers benefit the planocracy system?
- the plantations needed ready access to cheap workers and the slave trade provided them with permanent, free labour.
- the cost of maintaining them was small and the cost to buy one was nothing in comparison to how much that slave would generate for them
why was the slave system so profitable?
1. In Britain more and more people wanted to buy sugar (PROFIT for merchants)
2. To meet their needs, the planters ordered more enslaved Africans from the West African court for less and less (PROFIT for slave traders)
3. In the Caribbean, more and more sugar was produced on the plantations (PROFIT for plantation owners)
4. Across the Atlantic, increased shipments of sugar to Britain (PROFIT for shipping companies) 5. In Britain, those who profited had more SPENDING POWER - money to spend on luxuries
who were the maroons?
Escaped slaves from plantations in Jamaica who formed their own communities in the mountains
they welcomed runaways and fought guerrilla wars against the planters
how successful was the marroons' challenge to the planters?
so successful that, in 1739, the two sides signed a compromise treaty to end the First Marroon War
when was the east india company formed?
1600 by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I
EIC's intention
to carry out trade with south and southeast asia, concentrating on India and China
how was the EIC structured?
it was an entirely private business, a joint stock company with wealthy shareholders and no government involvement
what powers was the EIC granted?
- it could mint its own money
- run its own justice system
- wage war
- granted a monopoly of English trade in asia
- had it's own army and navy
EIC's biggest challenge
mughal empire:
had a far larger economy than britain
while many of india's resources were in great demand in england, india had no need for english goods
how did the EIC overcome that challenge?
the asiento:
meant that britain now had access to gold and silver bullion from spanish colonies in america which india was interested in
who was aurangzeb?
mughal emperor
when and why did the EIC's relationship with aurangzeb collapse?
the EIC was trying to negotiate a firman which would grant special trading rights across india, but the the company's governer interfered and the emperor broke of the talks
in response, the governer started teh Anglo-Mughal war. Aurangzeb easily defeated the EIC, so they surrendedered and were forced to pay a huge fine in return for trading rights
what were the outcomes of the EIC's surrender in the Anglo-mughal war?
- embarassment for england, bruising their reputation and relationship with india
- however another outcome was that the Company was sable to set up a new 'factory' (trading post) in Kolkata
when did they set up their trading post in kolkata?
1690
significance of kolkata
Britain would later rule India from there for 200 years
period of misfortune for the EIC
1688-1702
examples of EIC blows 1688-1702
- parliament passed a resoution saying that all should have equal right to trade in the East Indies- the EICs monopoly was broken
- wages for wool and silk weavers were so low that there were several marches and protests against the EIC in 1696 and 1697
- in 1698, parliament set up a new company to trade with Asia and the EIC given three years to close itself down
- in 1700, a new law banned the import of asian silk and cotton to england
period of EIC gain
1702-1730
examples of EIC gains 1702-30
- the EIC's directors used the 3 years' grace to buy up shares in the new company
- United Company of Merchants Trading to the East Indies
- EIC created new markets
- offered employment opportunities
- fall of mughal empire
United Company of Merchants Trading to East Indies
1702
the EIC and new companies agreed to merge, making the United Company of Merchants Trading to the East Indies- just the EIC in another form with more of a monopoly.
To cope with the ban on imports, it put the asian cloth on ships sailing to Cape Coast and traded it for enslaved africans
EIC's creation of new markets
- EIC created new markets globally, especially the opium trade in China (creating a widespread drug addiction with devastating effects) and tea trade in Britain.
--> the EIC was now profiting from opium addiction in the east and tea addiction in the west
- as demand for luxury commodities grew in England, its share price and profits increased.
EIC employment opportunites
- offered employment opportunities to british people- especially attractive to scots after 1707
- company expanded across asia, employing large numbers of asian seamen (lascars) to work on its growing fleet of merchant ships
fall of mughal empire
After aurangzeb died in 1707, mughal rule weakened
the EIC took advantage of this to expand its own power
why was the period 1688-1730 significant economically?
a time of the accumulation of vast wealth and emergence of the middle class by the privatisation of the economy
when was the bank of england set up?
1694
why was the bank of england set up?
in order to raise a loan for william to spend on his colonial wars
consequences of the bank of england
the creation of National Debt
bank could also lend to the public and smaller businesses (credit)
national debt definition
the debt owed by a government- and therefore the taxpayers- borrowing from its banks so that it can finance its activities
significance of the bank of england
- became the main storage for Britain's bullion, which the South Sea Company exchanged slaves for with the spanish, which could then be used in trades with India
- credit system meant that people could invest--> south sea bubble