Liverpool's Slave Trade as a Centre of a Global Commerce and an Important Factor in British Economic Growth
This essay will attempt to answer the question by approaching it in
three stages. Firstly it will assess the importance of Britain's slave
trade in the context of global commerce, especially during the 18th
century. Secondly it will attempt to show the degree of significance -
and the reason - for Liverpool's involvement as a British port, and
thirdly, to find out whether or not this had a bearing on Britain's
economy in general. In other words, the essay will attempt to
ascertain whether Britain's slave trade "was the centre of a global
commerce", and whether Liverpool was, in turn, the central city for
that particular trade.
From around 1600, Britain had colonised or conquered a network of
territories all over the world including parts of the Americas -
According to Professor Kenneth Morgan, "By 1797-8, North America and
the West Indies received 57 per cent of British exports, and supplied
32 per cent of imports"[1]. The 18th century saw Britain rise to an
undisputed dominant position among her rival European powers. Trade
with these overseas colonies was a driving force behind the Industrial
Revolution, especially throughout the 19th Century, in providing
sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods. The slave
trade played a huge part: "By the end of the 18th century, Britain had
become the largest and most accomplished slaving nation in the world"[2].
If it can be sh...
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[5] Travel Journal of Jabez Fisher, 1778 - from Morgan, K : "The Birth
of Industrial Britain - Economic Change 1750-1850" Longman, 1999
[6] Rule, J : "The Vital Century - England's Developing Economy 1714 -
1815" Longman, 1992 (P.268)
[7] Same as "3" (P. 70)
[8] Hair, P. E. H : "The Atlantic Slave Trade and Black Africa" The
Historical Association, 1978 (P.11)
[9] Morgan, K : "The Birth of Industrial Britain - Economic Change
1750-1850" Longman, 1999 (P.73)
[10] Mokyr, J : "The British Industrial Revolution - An Economic
Perspective" Westview Press, 1993 (P.76-77)
[11] Same as "6" (P.269)
[12] Mantoux, P : "The Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century"
Cape, 1961 (P.107)
[13] Same as "12" (P.108)
[14] Craton, M : "Sinews of Empire" Temple Smith, 1974 (P.155)
[15] Ibid (P.156)
The aforementioned topics of establishment in the New World and treatment of slaves on plantations were recurring throughout the book. The book did a good job illustrating why Caribbean countries like Barbados were central in the triangular trade between England, the West Indies, and America commonly comes up in middle school history classes. One of the hard to believe aspects of the book is the idea that merchants seemed to stumble into their fortune and were only where they were due to the work done by the slaves from before sun rise to after sun
The transatlantic slave trade was one of the most important factors in how the world came to be the way it is today. This trade led to the economic prosperity and political development in European countries and the population decline on the African continent. It was the catalyst for the development of both rich and poor societies today. The Two Princes of Calabar is a prime example of how this trade affected the economic growth of the countries and civilizations involved.
London and the transatlantic slave trade. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2014, from Port Citites: http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.103/chapterId/2257/outputFormat/print/London-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade.html
Boxer, C.R. : The Dutch Seaborne Empire (London, 1965). Canny, Nicholas: The Oxford History of the British Empire, Vol I, The Origins of the Empire (New York 1998). Curtin, Philip D: The rise and fall of the plantation complex: Essays in Atlantic history (Cambridge, 1990). Dunn, Richard S.: Sugar and Slaves (North Carolina,1973).
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 Atlantic Slave Trade was one of, if not the largest scale movements of human beings from one part of the world to another by sea and could have been considered a mobile killing machine because of the horrible conditions. The numbers were so large that the slaves who came by slave trade were the most Old-World immigrants in the world. Even though there were only races of people enslaved during the Atlantic Slave Trade, African Americans were the most numerous. Records show 34,941 voyages during the time of the slave trade. The Transatlantic Slave Trade took place across the Atlantic Ocean in the 16th century and lasted till the 19th centuries. The way that the Atlantic Slave Trade came about was cruel but not unthinkable. The capture and enslavement of African Americans was inevitable, the only question was when. A lot more slaves were taken to the South America than to the North America because the South “needed” them more. The South Atlantic economic system was based on producing crops, making goods and other things to sell. The enslaved people didn’t just skip into the ship with smiles on their faces. The Spanish colonists asked the King of Spain for permission to bring slaves to The New World to provide for them. Spanish Colonists were currently forcing Native Americans to do their labor for them but they were dying in large numbers because of diseases and lack of care from the colonists. The King of Spain gave approval to the colonists to import Africans and from then on Africans were transported there for use and labor and other needs of the Spanish colonists. During this time many African American slaves were transported. An estimated twelve to fifteen million African Americans were shipped throughout the world includ...
Every year, more and more money is donated to Africa to promote democracy in order to get rid of the powerful coups in many countries through out the continent. While the coups are declining and democratic governments are being established, the economic growth and development of Africa is not anywhere it should be considering the abundant natural resources and coastline that the continent possesses. Even though countries, like the United States of America, donate millions of dollars they are a large reason why Africa is underdeveloped economically. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is the most devastating event in the history of the world. Nearly 14,000,000 men, women, and children were displaced, sold into slavery, and killed by the trade routes.(
The British slave trade was one of the major parts of the British economy and it was very prevalent it the time, especially among the upper class. Slavery was a highly accepted and legal practice. The thought of abolition at this time was unheard of. The amount of racism in the 18th century was very high. Little to be known, a ground breaking movement by a young Parliament member by the name of William Wilberforce, would change British history forever.
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.”
One of the darker causes for the Industrial Revolution was the slave trade with overseas colonies at the time. For many merchants who saw the easy money to be made from the voyages, the merchants became extremely rich – and as it is in human nature – these rich merchants wanted to become even more rich, the seemingly best way to do this was to invest profits from the slave trade into the new factories that were arising, this is called “Commercial Revolution”. Britain was one of the few countries that was able to bring in profits from other countries and keep profits in their country, aiding them into being the first country to Revolutionise Industrially.
In “Slaves and the ‘Commerce’ of the Slave Trade,” Walter Johnson describes the main form of antebellum, or pre-Civil War, slavery in the South being in the slave market through domestic, or internal, slave trade. The slave trade involves the chattel principle, which said that slaves are comparable to chattels, personal property that is movable and can be bought or sold. Johnson identified the chattel principle as being central to the emergence and expansion of slavery, as it meant that slaves were considered inferior to everyone else. As a result, Johnson argued that slaves weren’t seen as human beings and were continually being mistreated by their owners. Additionally, thanks to the chattel principle, black inferiority was inscribed
...help boost worldwide economy while promising a virtually unlimited growth and prosperity, if the British viewed Africa as a commerce partner instead of a source of free labor. A commercial relationship with Africa would open up doors to immense wealth opportunities for the much more industrialized Britain. As an always expanding market for textiles and other hand made goods, treated as human beings of equal worth, would become much valuable customers and many local goods could be exchanged. Additionally the African land is fruitful in mineral and resource wealth of the African continent offered vast opportunity to the more advanced economies. "The hidden treasures of centuries" would be available for European exploitation. "The manufacturing interest and the general interest are synonymous, The abolition of slavery would be in reality an universal good." (Citation)
Mercantilism Essay England in the 17th century adopted the policy of mercantilism, exercising control over the trade of the colonies, thus greatly affecting their political and economical development. Mercantilism was the policy in Europe throughout the 1500's to the 1700's where the government of the mother country controlled the industry and trade of other, weaker settlements with the idea that national strength and economic security comes from exporting more than what is imported. Possession of colonies provided the countries with sources of raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods. This system had political and economical repercussions on the inflicted because it inspired many new laws and acts for the colonies, and it restricted the colonies trade to England, reducing the revenue that the colonies received. The thirteen colonies were influenced by the mercantilism policy of England due to the numerous trading prohibitations and taxes that were placed on them and the goods they trafficked.
London was considered Europe's liveliest musical capitals and universal trade leader with Britain's concentration of its wealth and power in addition to a plethora of production and trade opportunities. Financiers in London reaped the benefits of Britain's flourishing slave trade in the 1700s by investing in slave labor. This business brought a vast amount of sugar, which also helped merchants who bought, refined, and then resold sugar. Thousands of ships arrived at London's docks through the Thames river every year, carrying large amounts of raw goods. Since London's theaters were run by the government, only two permanent theaters were allowed to show dramas in English: the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. Hanover
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century changed Europe forever. At the front of this change was Great Britain, which used some natural advantages and tremendous thinking and innovation to become the leader of the Industrial Revolution.