Slavery was Crucial to the Age of Exploration:

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The Age of Exploration (1400-1600) was a time of great conquest, discovery and superstition. In which humans first circumnavigated the globe, discovered the “New World” and trade was first established between both Europe, the Americas and Africa. However, in order to fuel this rapid expansion in both land, commercialisation and greed, there was an increased demand in slavery. Without the low cost labour, trade opportunities and employment slavery provided, the Age of Exploration would have been far less successful and prosperous. The Cheap labour provided by Slaves from the 14th to the 17th century was crucial to the prosperity and advances made, during The Age of Exploration. The only costs associated with slavery was the purchase, transport and upkeep of slaves, and in most cases, the slaves themselves provided their own food. This made slavery extremely cheap, which was especially needed in a time where a large portion of a countries’ GDP was being used to fund their empire and conquests and little was left to build and maintain the buildings of home and their colonies. Moreover, in the case of the Americas, the cheap labour slaves provided was crucial. For instance, when settlers first arrive they must clear land, build houses and of course, farm the land. All of which requires a lot of labour which in the only recently settled America’s is not only hard to find, but also expensive and investment which was also scarce. Therefore, with the addition of slaves, farmers were able to run a farm for almost nothing, but export there produce, such as tobacco for a high price, increasing prosperity in both Europe, and the Americas. Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman supported this statement heavily in their book “Time on the Cross”... ... middle of paper ... ...ts of the Slave Trade on Africa." StudyMode. N.p., Feb. 2011. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. . "Quick Guide: The Slave Trade." BBC News. BBC, 15 Mar. 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. "The Slave Trade." BBC News. BBC, 15 Mar. 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. . "Slavery." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. . Spielvogel, Jackson J. "Chapter 13: The Age of Exploration." Glencoe World History. New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2005. 402-25. Stamfordhighschool. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. . W., C., and A. J. K. D. "Did Slavery Make Economic Sense?" The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.

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