Dutch Slave Trade
During the 17th and 18th centuries, mercantilism was the emerging economic policy through which the slave trade developed in Europe. In the Netherlands many historical events gave rise to a desire for domination of international trade. They were serious tradesman and were heavily involved in the profitable business of slavery. The Dutch, intelligent and self-ruling tradesmen took no time in displaying their dominance over rival countries, Portugal, England and Spain, in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. They established their international superiority in trade and impacted today’s society.
From 1609 to 1713, the Dutch Republic was going through “The Golden Age.” It was a time of economic wealth, and a higher standard of life compared to most European countries. However, the Netherlands had the highest cost of living out of all European countries. It was the period in which mercantilism expanded, and domination of trading power was necessity. England, France, and Portugal were also expanding their boundaries of trade, which will begin a long fight for mastery at sea. The Dutch was the trading capital of the world at this time; in which is represented in this quote,” Although the Dutch tenaciously resisted the new competition, the long distance trading system of Europe was transformed from one largely conducted through the Netherlands, with the Dutch as universal buyer-seller and shipper, to one of multiple routes and fierce competitiveness.”(Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 24, pg. 890). The Netherlands operated in 7 provinces, known as the United Provinces, and the Dutch society was mainly consisted of bourgeoisie, sailors, and merchants. Because of the major trade industry in Holland, and that agricultural was secondary to the trading industry, the Dutch people were taxed extremely high for goods. However, a wave of culture flowed through Dutch Society, influenced by the economic profit that the Dutch gained from trade.
The production of sugarcane and cotton in the New World increased the urgency for laborers in the new colonies, in which led to the major importation of African slaves. These plantations and farms, in the New World sparked the golden business of slave trading, a business that will guide the Dutch to economic wealth. The Dutch entered the slave trade around the 16th...
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... ocean. These diseases were due to the minimum ventilation, light, food, and sanitation necessary to survive the trip across the ocean. The slaves were also chained to prevent revolts and committing suicides by jumping over-board. Traders even hired freed blacks to spy on the slaves, to prevent an uprising to occur. Nearly 1/4th of the slaves died during the journey across the Atlantic, which was an average of 2-3 months. The slave ship then had either two paths to take; one to the American colonies or to the West Indies.
When the ship reached fresh water and land, the slaves were cheerful, explained here:
It was reported that slaves danced with joy when they saw land and green trees again. For the managers of the slave ships, it was important that the slaves were in good spirits and looked healthy as they were prepared for the market. (Postma 168)
When the slave ships arrived in the West, they had to be checked of any diseases that the slaves may have. Sometimes this inspection took almost 2 months. For example, the Vergenoegen was denied entrance into Surinam because of diseases. Once the disease had resided the ship was allowed to enter the harbor, and to sell its human cargo.
Sugar plantations have a field where sugar cane stalks are cut and grown and then there are boiling house where sugar cane stalks are crushed and boiled which is all runned by slave labor. Because slaves planted the cane stalks, harvested sugar stalks, crushed them, and boiled the sugar stalks sugar was made(8). According to David richardson the slave Trade, Sugar, and British Economic growth, “An Average purchase price of adult male slave on west African coast in 1748 was 14£ and in 1768 was 16£”(9a).Because slaves were so cheap slave traders may profit by, selling adult male slaves to sugar plantation owners for twice as much as they bought them in Africa. John Campbell Candid and Impartial Considerations on the Nature of the Sugar Trade describes the slaves as “so necessary Negro slaves purchased in Africa by English merchants”(11). Because africa trade slaves to English merchants Africans got things they did not
From loaded uncomfortable space, diseases, and even death. Many were crowded together forced to lie on their back bare knowing that it could only be someone's feces, urine, blood, which increases medical conditions in the small quarter (section 6 part 1). I can't even imagine how terrible that must be especially if you had a child forced to be in that area. I would honestly rather try to figure a way out or die because the situation sounds unbearable to live in for 60-90 days. Many desperate slaves actually attempted suicide by going overboard to drown themselves “often did I think many of the inhabitants deep much happier than myself“ (Equino: section 6 part 1). Not to mention, when it informed that women were used sexually for pleasure from white men and they believed they were doing them a favor becuase having intercorse with theem is a gift, but considering the same interactions with a black man would be considered animalistic and inhuman angered me. Though Europeans may have also started to developed symptoms the colored were consumed with such as, smallpox, yellow fever etc .from relations with the colored women. Over the centuries, “between one and two million” people died in the expedition (section 6 part
They "developed a common routine of removing their families to Newport, Rhode Island, during that portion of the year" (73). By doing this, they lowered the risk of people getting sick and dying. They made a discovery that malaria and yellow fever were what was causing so many people to get sick. However, the African slaves were unaffected to these diseases and could endure working in the fields without getting sick. This being another reason African slaves were prevalent in South Carolina, and how they became the
Following the success of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas in the early16th century, the Spaniards, French and Europeans alike made it their number one priority to sail the open seas of the Atlantic with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new territory. Once there, they immediately fell in love the land, the Americas would be the one place in the world where a poor man would be able to come and create a wealthy living for himself despite his upbringing. Its rich grounds were perfect for farming popular crops such as tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton. However, there was only one problem; it would require an abundant amount of manpower to work these vast lands but the funding for these farming projects was very scarce in fact it was just about nonexistent. In order to combat this issue commoners back in Europe developed a system of trade, the Triangle Trade, a trade route that began in Europe and ended in the Americas. Ships leaving Europe first stopped in West Africa where they traded weapons, metal, liquor, and cloth in exchange for captives that were imprisoned as a result of war. The ships then traveled to America, where the slaves themselves were exchanged for goods such as, sugar, rum and salt. The ships returned home loaded with products popular with the European people, and ready to begin their journey again.
The documents of the slave trade case study contains documents, which were authored by individuals closely connected to the slave trade. Gomes Eannes de Azurara was a Portuguese chronicler who provided details about the early voyages on the west coast of Africa and the capture of Africans in the slave trade. The primary source that Azurara wrote was titled The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea written in 1450. The second primary source titled Practices and Contracts of Merchants was written by Fray Tomas De Mercado in 1587. The third primary source, The Travailes of an English Man, was written by Job Hortop in 1567. These primary sources aid in exemplifying how
Openness and enterprise were the foundations of Amsterdam's prosperity. The city as well as the tiny country of Holland achieved their premier position in the modern era by creating a dynamic network of global trade. Most people know that New York was originally New Amsterdam, and that the Dutch people were the pioneers of capitalism. But how did it play out?
After a slave got off the ship, the binding began. Families would be split up most likely never to see each other ever again. A captain would do everything he could to improve the price of the slaves. He would increase their food an...
Though the Atlantic Slave Trade began in 1441, it wasn’t until nearly a century later that Europeans actually became interested in slave trading on the West African coast. “With no interest in conquering the interior, they concentrated their efforts to obtain human cargo along the West African coast. During the 1590s, the Dutch challenged the Portuguese monopoly to become the main slave trading nation (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA). Besides the trading of slaves, it was also during this time that political changes were being made. The Europe...
The image of American slave traders popularized and ingrained upon the national consciousness is based predominantly upon the character of Mr. Haley in Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is one of brash and opportunistic men of dubious background, character and principles, inherently racist and brutish in nature, motivated solely by profit. Ironically this largely echoed the view depicted publicly in the pro-slavery oratory and writings, which typically minimized the importance of the trade and portrayed the traders as social outcasts from the genteel antebellum culture of the South, thus reinforcing this fictitious version of history. Close scrutiny by many prominent historians has unquestionably shown this image is not historically accurate however. Far from being social outcasts with no community ties, many traders were in fact prominent citizens holding important positions in government and business. The most enterprising and successful of their number took full advantage of the latest innovations in modern transportation and employed effective market and advertising strategies thus introducing a spirit of commercialism which was so prevalent in the North to the South's agrarian culture. While it can not be disputed the most of these men held strongly racist views and many committed appalling acts in the course of the business, most saw themselves as men of vision who were simply pursuing their own American dream of happiness and prosperity. In their estimation their business practices were no more unethical than those of Northern entrepreneurs and served a viable need to the public at large.
The living conditions on the ships were awful. Slaves were crammed into a small area overflowing with other slaves all crowded together. Slaves battled dehydration, being given little to no water, and malnourishment, being given small amounts of food, and no place to use the bathroom. Viruses like scurvy and fly disease spread rapidly throughout the ship. Slaves also battled dehydration and malnourishment. The long time on the ships is another condition the slaves had to go through for months at a time. Many slaves died before getting to their destination.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade was a service that transported around twelve and a half million men, women, and children to be bought and sold as slaves by countries mostly in the New World, like the United States of America. (The Transatlantic Slave Trade) The Portuguese were the first to bring African slaves over to the new world, but it quickly caught on over the years. Around 80% of the slaves that came across the Atlantic ended up in Brazil or the Caribbean Islands while only 7% wound up in the United States.(Ross) With the climate being completely different in South America, Europeans found it extremely hard to work and were not used to the living conditions so they contracted diseases. Unlike Europeans, the African slaves were capable of handling the climate and were used to working hard. (How Many Slaves Came to America? Fact vs. Fiction.) The reason the Transatlantic Slave Trade worked for many years was because it had a triangular trade form where Africa would send slaves over to America who would send the products of the slave labor over to Europe who would send ammunition and weapons back to Africa. There have been over 30,000 documented trips from Africa to the Americas. The trip from Africa to America lasted about three months by ships. This was called the middle passage, where a large amount of slaves died from malnutrition
All were subject to harsh circumstances and the relentless fears of shipwreck and disease outbreaks. It took as long as five to twelve weeks, depending on the weather circumstances and point of departure. The captain and the crew workers treated the slaves like wild animals, giving them barely enough food to survive and leaving them to suffer with lice, fleas, and rats, which led to many diseases (“Middle Passage”). The records stated that about two –thirds of the fatalities were caused by malaria, yellow fever, and intestinal disorders (Postma 25). The enslaved Africans were linked with heavy iron chains around their hands and feet with barely enough room to lie down (Howarth). Constant odors of urine, vomit...
Slaves and slave trade has been an important part of history for a very long time. In the years of the British thirteen colonies in North America, slaves and slave trade was a very important part of its development. It even carried on to almost 200 years of the United States history. The slave trade of the thirteen colonies was an important part of the colonies as well as Europe and Africa. In order to supply the thirteen colonies efficiently through trade, Europe developed the method of triangular trade. It is referred to as triangular trade because it consists of trade with Africa, the thirteen colonies, and England. These three areas are commonly called the trades “three legs.”
In addition, Africans had to endure the terrible heat, there was little or no food provided. They were subjected to diseases that quickly spread among slaves, and many died due to unsanitary conditions. Most of the time, the sick were thrown overboard to avoid infecting others. One writer describes the terrible conditions that African slaves had to endure, “In the voyage, one of every three Africans died from dysentery, smallpox, or suffocation and was thrown overboard to the sharks, who reportedly followed the slave ships from the coast of Africa all the way to the New World.”
One facet of this unique system involved the numerous economic differences between England and the colonies. The English government subscribed to the economic theory of mercantilism, which demanded that the individual subordinate his economic activity to the interests of the state (Text, 49). In order to promote mercantilism in all her colonies, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts in 1651, which controlled the output of British holdings by subsidizing. Under the Navigation Acts, each holding was assigned a product, and the Crown dictated the quantity to be produced. The West Indies, for example, were assigned sugar production and any other colony exporting sugar would face stiff penalties (Text, 50). This was done in order to ensure the economic prosperity of King Charles II, but it also served to restrict economic freedom. The geographical layout of the American colonies made mercantilism impractical there. The cit...