Slave trade and Columbian Exchange The Atlantic Slave

Slave trade and Columbian Exchange

The Atlantic Slave Trade • Sugar plantations & tobacco farms required a large supply workers to make them profitable, but with so many enslaved Native Americans dying from disease a new source of labor had to be found….

The Triangular Trade • Manufactured goods sent to Africa / Americas from Europe • Slaves sent to the Americas from Africa • Raw materials sent Europe / Africa from Americas – Voyage that brought captured Africans to the Americas became known as the “Middle Passage”.

Consequences of the Atlantic Slave Trade • Africa lost generations of their young & able. • African families torn apart. • Guns were introduced to the continent of Africa which helped spread conflict throughout Africa. In America however Africans became the backbone of an emerging continent

The Columbian Exchange & Global Trade • The global transfer of foods, plants, animals, & diseases during the colonization of the Americas was known as the Columbian Exchange. – Dramatic growth of overseas trading brought about a Commercial Revolution

Commercial Revolution • We begin to see a growth of capitalism, or an economic system based on private ownership. • Joint-Stock Companies are developed which involves a number of people pooling their money for a common purpose. (Investing) • Theory of Mercantilism said that a country’s power depended on it’s wealth. According to this theory a country would try to establish a favorable balance of trade. (Sell more goods than it buys)