Impact of empire- political and social impact

who benefitted from slavery and empire?

people from all social classes across Britain

how did british people benefit from slavery and empire?

brought job opportunities

brought new commodities

give 2 examples of job opportunities because of slavery

gun makers

chain makers

gun makers in britain

Birmingham was a major producer of guns used by the navy and traded on the West African coast in return for enslaved people

chain and padlock makers in britain

Wolverhampton and towns in the Black Country main the chains used on enslaved people

give 2 examples of job opportunities because of EIC/trade as a whole

clergymen, lawyers, doctors and managers

shipbuilders

clergymen, lawyers, doctors and managers

there were opportunities in India for professionals such as clergymen, lawyers, doctors and managers

shipbuilders

due to the increasing numbers of ships required, the demand for timber, sail cloth and all the materials needed in shipbuilding created work for people across the country

as well as teams of skilled workers who could build the ships themselves

3 dominant british 'slave ports'

Bristol

Liverpool

London

bristol slave port

- major centre for ships sailing to West Africa and returning from Caribbean loaded with sugar

- the city had many 'sugar houses' where sugar was refined, made into 'sugar loaves' and stored before going out to shops

- between 1700-1718, the houses in Queen Square were built for some of the city's wealthiest slave traders

liverpool slave port

- by 1700, Liverpool was the world's leading slave port

- many streets in the city are named after prominent slave traders e.g. Sir Thomas Street (city's mayor and financed ships taking slaves to sugar plantations)

- The Blue Coat Hospital- now an arts centre- was founded in 1708 as a charity for poor children, set up and financed by profiters of the slave trade e.g. Bryan Blundell (founder)

london slave port

- many of it's major institutions owe their initial wealth the slave trade

- royal family's profit from RAC monopoly went into Windsor Castle- the monarch's official residence

- Sir Hans Sloane, founder of British Museum, married into a wealthy Jamaican slave-owning family

- Thomas Guy, founder of Guy's Hospital, sold many of his shares in the South Sea Company right before the 'bubble' making himself extremely rich

--> ironic because both of these were philanthropists- giving money for the benefit of others- but their money came from the violent and brutal slave trade

give 3 examples of smaller ports

lancaster

topsham near exeter

dartmouth

these smaller ports also sent out slave ships

how did empire affect the british political world?

coffee houses

development of a new political system

new ways of spreading ideas

what were coffee houses used for?

coffee houses were where people- usually men- came to socialise, do business and freely exchange ideas

e.g. key political ideas like union with scotland, corruption in the EIC were the subject of intense discussion

role of empire in the emergence of coffee houses

coffee was brought from arabia by the EIC

the wealthy men who exchanged ideas there got their wealth from the slave trade or eic

london coffee houses

london had more coffee houses than any other city in the world except istanbul

in 1734, they had 551 coffee houses, and many more unlicensed ones

significance of coffee houses

- Bank of England began life at Edward Lloyd's coffee house

- London Stock Exchange began at Jonathan's in Exchange Alley

- Enslaved Africans were also sold at some coffee houes

were coffee houses just for the elite?

no

coffee houses for all social classes were developing.

some sold alcohol and some were linked to criminal activity

development of government

After the glorious revolution, the Tory (developed into conservative) and Whig (developed into LibDems) parties grew

the tories represented the landownding gentry

the whigs represented the growing class of wealthy merchants

limitations of new government

only wealthy men could vote

role of empire in our government today

the system of government we have now was formed by an elite of merchants and landowners who's wealth came increasingly from the plantations in the Americas and the Asian trade

new ways of spreading ideas

New, sophisticated methods of spreading information and ideas:

- pamphlets

- broadsheets

- magazines

- newspapers

would be read and discussed in the many coffee houses that were only a short walk from banks and offices

the papers also began to carry advertisements offering things for sale, announcing events or asking for help in catching runaway slaves or servants

how did trade from india and china affect consumer habits?

styles and commodities from asia (esp. china) like tea and porcelain became fashionable and widely popular so not only did their trade increase, but many european companies began to copy their styles

indian textiles and designs were equally fashionable having a huge impact on dress and furnishing styles in Britain

how did the atlantic trade affect consumer habits?

for the people who could afford it, tobacco, coffee and sugar became increasingly fashionable and, like tea, addictive

so demand grew. more slaves were hired and the prices for these goods dropped, so more people could afford it, further increasing demand. Britain was becoming a consumer society and this was driving the economy

negative impacts of britain's consumer society

increased slavery in the americas and caribbean

increased exploitation of lascars and other merchant seamen

how did empire affect changing ideas?

as the british colonised other parts of the world, the people they colonised were dehumanised. africans were depicted as 'stateless' (not belonging to any nation) and therefore inferior.

They were described as being a 'lower', less intelligent species

plantocracy racism

The idea that Europeans were superior to Africans, developed to justify the slave system on plantations.

why did plantocracy racism take hold?

- the drive for wealth and profit overpowered other considerations

- those involved needed to justify enslavement

- too many people in britain were benefitting from the slave trade

- planters wanted to prevent united rebellion by indentured and enslaved people

'scientific' reasoning supporting racism at that time

in 1735, the swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus who also created the modern method of species classification, published systema naturae. He divided humanity into four 'races'- white europeans, red americans, brown asians, and black africans. he described africans as 'crafty, lazy and careless'

these ideas influenced eurpeans, providing false 'scientific' backing to racism

impact of racist ideology in Britain

up until the slave trade, black people worked alongside white people, given the same treatment and rights.

due to the emergence of racial ideologies, black people and indian people living in britain were subject to racial abuse and persecution.

the impact of racist ideology has resulted in people experiencing racism frequently and persistently even today

in the early 1700s, however, what began to develop?

ideas of individual liberty and arguents against enslavement were taking shape, discussed in coffee houses

e.g. in 1709, a pamphlet published in london attacked slavery on moral grounds

however it would be more than 100 years before slavery was legally abolished