Atlantic Slave Trade 1500-1800

Even before the first humans on Earth, there has always been a constant change in the landscape. From the first cultivated fields of the Neolithic period to the great structures of the first dynasty in China, the landscape has ever been evolving. Arguably one of the most dynamic changes were those of Europe from the 1500-1800s. During this time, cultural, social and economic beliefs were remoulded or evolved to help create the foundations of societies today. Out of the three areas the most influential were the economic changes which not only took place in Western Europe but throughout other continents as well. Most recognizable of these changes was the importance of slavery in the Atlantic World. Slavery in the Trans- Atlantic world referred to the use of people from Africa who had been captured and used for their labour to create goods for Europe.[i] Though there are multiple examples of the benefits, the real success was due to the economic factors which allowed the slave trade and slavery to expand from 1550- 1800. Through the Atlantic economy, increased trade through the colonization of the New World and also the interdependence of countries and diversity are the three factors that allowed the slave trade and slavery to grow in the Atlantic World as well as the increased wealth of Europeans. One of the factors that expanded the slave trade and slavery was the growth of the Atlantic economy through capitalism. Modern capitalism known today started around this time period. This meant that economic institutions such as banks and the stock market came to fruition.[ii] This capitalism then translated overseas with the collection of cash crops which boosted the Western European economy. In the third document for example there is an example of capitalism in action in the British West Indies. [iii] The sugar [cash crop] is in barrels which would have been shipped off to Europe where it would have been sold to people to create money to circle within the economy. Some

Bibliography: Armstrong J. The Atlantic Economy and Slavery (Canada: TCPHS 2011) Bulliet Richard, The Earth and Its peoples: A Global History, ( Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011). Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade from 1450- 1750, Oracle ThinkQuest: Education Foundation, last modified 2011,http://library.thinkquest.org/13406/ta/