The New World: The Trans-Atlantic Trade System
The Trans-Atlantic Trade System refers to all of the trade done between Europe, Africa, and the Americas across the Atlantic Ocean. Sugar, slaves, and spirits fueled the entire triangular trade. Slaves were exchanged from Africa for rum, rum was produced as a byproduct of sugar, sugar was grown by slaves in the Americas, and Europe developed manufactured goods to aid the production of sugar. All three continents and their exports fit together to form the Trans-Atlantic Trade System. Plantation systems will be introduced during this time to the New World to grow crops. Sugar was grown in the West Indies while tobacco was grown in Brazil. Plantations relied on the import of slaves to function because it was hard work that the Europeans weren’t
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willing to do. Slave drivers controlled all the exchanging of slaves and controlled what the slaves would do based on their masters wishes. Slave drivers were also slaves, but they were considered the middleman and received better living environments and larger quantities of food. Although, there was a high death rate while working in plantations due to disease and malnutrition caused by a high calorie diet from the sugar crops. Slaves were also tortured using violence to strengthen the plantations and to encourage the slaves to resist the urge to escape. Burning hot masks were placed on slaves faces for vindictive behavior and then they were placed back in the fields to work. They were also punished for abnormal behavior unpleasing to their master and were whipped with a leather whip that would leave marks and scars all around the slave's back and arms. Lastly, the slaves that attempted escape, but were caught would become a victim of hobbling. This was a punishment used by cutting the slave’s legs, so they couldn’t escape, but they could still work. Slavery led to the African Diaspora which was the spreading out of Africans during period four of world history.
This was a direct result of the Trans-Atlantic Trade System due to the constant export of slaves from Africa to parts of the New World to grow sugar plantations. Many slaves were traded along the middle passage, which was an ocean passage from Africa to the New World across the Atlantic Ocean. Most slaves were shipped to Brazil and the Caribbean than anywhere else in the New World. The slaves were tightly packed into the lower deck of a ship filled with many germs that would never be cleaned. The lower deck showed as a way to restrain the Africans from jumping off the side of the ship to commit suicide. Although, the death rates of slave ships were very high due to the horrible conditions. Disease was a major cause of death among the travelers. A limited amount of food was provided to the slaves which weakened their immune system to make them more susceptible to disease. There was also a lack of waste management in the lower decks of the ships where most of the diseases arose from. The Trans-Atlantic Trade had two economic theories to receive benefit. First, mercantilism where a country’s wealth is determined by their exports. The big idea was to export more than you import to receive greater amounts of wealth. For example, the 13 American Colonies sought out to benefit Britain by placing tariffs on everyone who wanted to buy sugar from them except for Britain. Second, capitalism was believed to invest money in hopes of receiving a profit. There was a limited involvement from the government, so they would be considered joint-stock
companies. This all sounds bad for Africa, but they also benefitted from the trading system. Africa became dependent on Europe to supply them with guns due to the increasement of war between African tribes. Many tribes would conquer other tribes to increase in size and take slaves as a “byproduct” of war. Conquered tribes would be sold as slaves to receive money to buy more firearms and establish large empires from strong slave kingdoms. This made it hard for Europeans to conquer parts of Africa due to their wealth, strong governments, and the environment. The slave kingdoms within Africa, in turn, had a large effect on the triangular trading system. One major kingdom was the Songhai. Askia the Great, the ruler of the Songhai, provided a uniformity of the Islamic religion. Religious schools were created within this kingdom which lead to an increase in education and literacy. They followed the Sharia law and had an efficient tax collection to become successful. Another major kingdom is the Asante. The Asante would take profit from the slave trade to develop a strong, centralized empire. This made it hard for the Europeans to conquer. Similar to the Europeans, the Asante had absolutism within the kingdom. Both kingdoms economically gained from the trading system due to the manufactured goods exported from Europe.
Overall, slaves, sugar, and rum all had an impact on the Trans-Atlantic Trading System between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. With the loss of one of these aspects, history would be changed and who knows where we would be today.
willing to do. Slave drivers controlled all the exchanging of slaves and controlled what the slaves would do based on their masters wishes. Slave drivers were also slaves, but they were considered the middleman and received better living environments and larger quantities of food. Although, there was a high death rate while working in plantations due to disease and malnutrition caused by a high calorie diet from the sugar crops. Slaves were also tortured using violence to strengthen the plantations and to encourage the slaves to resist the urge to escape. Burning hot masks were placed on slaves faces for vindictive behavior and then they were placed back in the fields to work. They were also punished for abnormal behavior unpleasing to their master and were whipped with a leather whip that would leave marks and scars all around the slave's back and arms. Lastly, the slaves that attempted escape, but were caught would become a victim of hobbling. This was a punishment used by cutting the slave’s legs, so they couldn’t escape, but they could still work. Slavery led to the African Diaspora which was the spreading out of Africans during period four of world history.
This was a direct result of the Trans-Atlantic Trade System due to the constant export of slaves from Africa to parts of the New World to grow sugar plantations. Many slaves were traded along the middle passage, which was an ocean passage from Africa to the New World across the Atlantic Ocean. Most slaves were shipped to Brazil and the Caribbean than anywhere else in the New World. The slaves were tightly packed into the lower deck of a ship filled with many germs that would never be cleaned. The lower deck showed as a way to restrain the Africans from jumping off the side of the ship to commit suicide. Although, the death rates of slave ships were very high due to the horrible conditions. Disease was a major cause of death among the travelers. A limited amount of food was provided to the slaves which weakened their immune system to make them more susceptible to disease. There was also a lack of waste management in the lower decks of the ships where most of the diseases arose from. The Trans-Atlantic Trade had two economic theories to receive benefit. First, mercantilism where a country’s wealth is determined by their exports. The big idea was to export more than you import to receive greater amounts of wealth. For example, the 13 American Colonies sought out to benefit Britain by placing tariffs on everyone who wanted to buy sugar from them except for Britain. Second, capitalism was believed to invest money in hopes of receiving a profit. There was a limited involvement from the government, so they would be considered joint-stock
companies. This all sounds bad for Africa, but they also benefitted from the trading system. Africa became dependent on Europe to supply them with guns due to the increasement of war between African tribes. Many tribes would conquer other tribes to increase in size and take slaves as a “byproduct” of war. Conquered tribes would be sold as slaves to receive money to buy more firearms and establish large empires from strong slave kingdoms. This made it hard for Europeans to conquer parts of Africa due to their wealth, strong governments, and the environment. The slave kingdoms within Africa, in turn, had a large effect on the triangular trading system. One major kingdom was the Songhai. Askia the Great, the ruler of the Songhai, provided a uniformity of the Islamic religion. Religious schools were created within this kingdom which lead to an increase in education and literacy. They followed the Sharia law and had an efficient tax collection to become successful. Another major kingdom is the Asante. The Asante would take profit from the slave trade to develop a strong, centralized empire. This made it hard for the Europeans to conquer. Similar to the Europeans, the Asante had absolutism within the kingdom. Both kingdoms economically gained from the trading system due to the manufactured goods exported from Europe.
Overall, slaves, sugar, and rum all had an impact on the Trans-Atlantic Trading System between the Americas, Africa, and Europe. With the loss of one of these aspects, history would be changed and who knows where we would be today.