APWH 4.6 Atlantic Slave Trade

What economic network developed for European empires in the Atlantic after 1500?

The Atlantic System

What was the first profitable New World product for the English and Dutch?

Tobacco

Which crop replaced tobacco in the West Indies?

Sugar

What were chartered companies used for in the British Empire?

To grant royal monopolies to private investors for colonization.

What was the most infamous chartered company in British history?

British East India Company

What was the role of the Dutch West India Company?

A joint stock trading company that attacked Spanish ships and captured sugar regions.

What type of ships were developed by the Dutch for trade that could sail in shallow waters?

Fluyt ships

What was the primary reason for the increase in slave trade in the West Indies?

The expansion of sugar plantations.

What was the average life expectancy of slaves in Brazil?

23 years.

What was the main motivation for slaves to work hard on plantations?

Punishments such as whipping and confinement.

What was the term for the small number of wealthy landowners in the slave society?

Plantocracy

What was the seasoning period for slaves?

A period of adjustment to the New World environment, where 1/3 died from unfamiliar diseases.

What were the two main slave groups on plantations?

Great Gang and Grass Gang.

What was the impact of indentured servants on plantation labor?

They were less desirable because they would leave after their contracts expired.

What was the main crop produced in the Caribbean during the 17th century?

Sugar

What was the consequence of deforestation for sugar production?

Soil exhaustion

Pressure on plants and native animals

Decrease of carib population

Deforestation

Pressure on native ecosystems.

What was the role of molasses in the sugar production process?

A by-product that was drained off and made into rum.

What was the significance of the British Royal Navy for chartered companies?

It provided protection for their trading activities.

What was the demographic change in the West Indies due to sugar plantations?

90% of the population became enslaved individuals.

What was the average lifespan of female chattel slaves compared to male field slaves?

Female slaves lived an average of 25 years, while male slaves lived an average of 7 more years.

What were the social classes in Saint Domingue?

Grand blancs, petits blancs, free whites, and free blacks.

What was manumission?

A legal grant of freedom to enslaved individuals.

What were Maroons?

Runaway slaves who formed independent communities.

What was the significance of Fort Mose in Florida?

It was a free black colony established in 1738.

What was the primary killer among slaves in the Caribbean?

Disease.

What was the impact of sugar production on the environment?

Deforestation and loss of native food supplies.

How did the English and French expand their Caribbean holdings?

By attacking Spanish colonies and trade routes.

What was the relationship between slavery and racism according to historical perspectives?

Slavery was not born of racism; rather, racism was a consequence of slavery.

French Guiana

1st to sign treaty with French recognizing their independence.