Economic Aspects of Slavery in the Triangular Trade in the Early Modern Period (original) (raw)

Slave prices, the African slave trade, and productivity in the Caribbean, 1674–1807

The Economic History Review, 2005

he study of the development of the Americas has been dominated by paradigms that focus on the emergence of the prosperous temperate regions, re-peopled, until recently, mainly by whites. 2 In the half-century after 1492, the most prosperous and powerful parts of Europe (Spain backed by Northern Italian finance) conquered the most powerful and prosperous parts of the Americas (the Aztec and Inca Empires). The subtropical empire that the Spanish acquired generated gold and silver exports, and incomes that were likely higher than in the rest of Europe. 3 Yet within less than three centuries, the centre of economic gravity both in Europe and in the Americas had shifted north, and the income gap between the temperate and sub-tropical regions had moved decisively in favour of the former. South of the equator, a parallel, if less-pronounced, shift occurred as coffee production and, later still, industrial activities in the southeast generated higher incomes than in the older sugar sectors of northeast Brazil.

What accounts for the raise of Atlantic slave trade?

The Atlantic Slave Trade was the biggest forced migration in the history of humanity. It was part of the Atlantic Triangular System, what historians call the geometrical shape of the trade links between Europe, Africa and the Colonies in America between the 16th and early 19th Centuries. Scholars argue the figure that approximates more to reality, it varies between 10 and 60 millions slaves. These estimates come from the accounting books of the traders. It is believed that a big part of the trade was illegal, and it didn"t show on books in order to avoid the imperial controls. Slavery in the Americas began in 1500 with the Portuguese but the peak, and focus of this essay, was after 1660 with the sugar revolution. It escalated over time until its abolition in the early 19th Century (D. Richardson, p. 441). Slavery had been abandoned in Northern Europe by the 15th Century, but it re-emerged due to shortage of labour in the colonial sugar, cotton and coffee plantations. The local population had been decimated by conquest and diseases brought from Europe and the white Europeans were not willing to settle for the hardships of tropical climates. Slavery is closely linked to the raise Capitalism, and as indicted by Marx, that sugar was responsible for ""the turning of Africa into a warren of commercial hunting of black skins,"" as part of the ""rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production". On this essay I want to show that Slavery was the option that the Empires chose when they faced the shortage of labour on the plantations. It was a consequence of Inter-Imperial Competition in the new Mercantilist-Capitalist World, triggered by the consumerism of the european new middle classes.

Beyond Profitability: The Dutch Transatlantic Slave Trade and its Economic Impact

Dutch research into the slave trade and its importance to the Dutch economy has often limited itself to investigating the financial success of slave trading companies, calculating the success of slaving by its profit rates. The central argument made in this article is that gross margin is a better indicator for the importance of the slave trade to the Dutch Republic. Even if a slave trading company did not make a net profit on a voyage, such a voyage led to extra activities such as shipbuilding or the production of trade goods. This article provides a reconstruction of this gross margin for the entire period that the Dutch were engaged in the trans-Atlantic slave trade by combining the most recent data on the size of the slave trade (including illicit trade) with data on both African and American price data of slaves.

Economic Aspects of the Eighteenth Century Atlantic Slave Trade

"Economic Aspects of the Eighteenth Century Atlantic Slave Trade, " in James D. Tracy, ed. The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long Distance Trade in the Early Modern World, 1350-1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), pp.287-310.

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Slave-Mercantile Capital and slavery in the Americas.

This article proposes the existence of a specific form of capital, which has not contemplated by specialized literature so far: the slave-mercantile capital. Moreover, it explains the logical and historical limitations of this form of capital, as well as its assumptions and the outcome of its action. The productive articulation between the colonial world and European economy as well as capital accumulation facilitated by slave-mercantile capital proved to be highly important in the process of primitive capital accumulation, while the conditions of capital existence were closely connected to the development of capitalism on a global basis.

Transatlantic Slave Trade: Impact on African and New World Societies"

The Transatlantic Slave Trade, spanning from the 16th to the 19th century, was one of the largest forced migrations in human history, profoundly shaping both African societies and the New World. This research explores the social, cultural, and economic impacts of the slave trade on African communities, as well as its transformative effects on the Americas. In Africa, the trade led to significant demographic shifts, the collapse of local economies, and the erosion of traditional societal structures. The devastation of communities through warfare, raids, and the capture of slaves disrupted African social and political systems, leaving a lasting legacy of conflict and underdevelopment. In the New World, the arrival of millions of enslaved Africans laid the foundation for plantation economies based on sugar, tobacco, and cotton, which contributed to the rise of European wealth and industrialization. The trade also established rigid racial hierarchies and slave-based societies, creating a deep racial divide that continues to affect social relations in post-emancipation nations. Additionally, African cultural contributions, through music, religion, and cuisine, significantly influenced New World cultures, resulting in a complex process of cultural syncretism. This research highlights the interconnectedness of the Atlantic world and the enduring legacy of the slave trade in shaping global history.

On the causes of the African Slave Trade

This paper offers an integrated analysis of the forces shaping the emergence of the African slave trade over the early modern period. We focus our attention on two questions. First, why most of the increase in the demand for slaves during this period came exclusively from western Europeans. Second, and of most relevance for present-day development outcomes, why was the overwhelming majority of slaves of African origin. Technological differences in manufacturing technology, the specificities of sugar (and other crops') production, and the cultural fragmentation of the African continent all play a role in the analysis. Supporting evidence for each of our claims is provided from a broad corpus of relevant literature.