Discuss the Anglo-American Transatlantic Commerce
The Anglo-American Trade started around mid 15th century. The interest that the Portuguese had in African continent shifted from fabled gold deposits to more readily available commodity. The much more readily available commodity in question is slaves (Klein 2010). The trade had already become vibrant by the seventeenth century as hundreds of Africans were transported to America and part of Europe so as to work in the farms and industries. The transatlantic trade reached its peak towards the end of 18th century. This trade was a success as every point of the journey could always be profitable for all the merchants who participated in the trade. This type of trade was also known as Triangular Trade (Klein 2010).
The expansion of European empires in the contemporary world experienced inadequate workforce which was essentially the major resource. In several instances, the indigenous were unreliable as most of them are dying from diseases. There was high demand for raw materials for the manufacturing industries in Europe. Most of the raw materials were obtained from America and Africa continent (Hamilton et al 2005). However, Africa was typically known to be rich ground of slaves who worked in the farms in America as well as the factories in Europe. This type of trade laid the foundation for capitalism which became rampant in many European countries and United States. A lot of wealth was generated to Europe and America as a result of the trade. One fundamental impact of Transatlantic trade is its contribution to industrialization particularly in Western part of Europe besides creating single Atlantic World that brought together West Africa, the Caribbean islands, Western Europe and the north and south American mainlands.
However, African continent turned out to be the greatest loser in this historical trade. A considerable number out of the continents population was lost in form of slaves who were ferried to America to work in the mega farms as laborers. This largely weakened the political and social aspects of many societies in Africa. Due to the weakening of social and political institutions in many countries in Africa, the continent was thus exploitation and colonization was in the horizon by the beginning of 19th century. Africa lost over 12 million members of its population to slave trade during that period (Allston et al 2004).
Explain the role of each continent making a distinction between which regions imported raw materials and which exported fished products:
America
The majority of slaves who were involved in the transatlantic trade were Africans mainly drawn from West and Central Africa. These Africans were sold to European slave traders by their fellow Africans. The slave traders then transported them to colonies both in South and North America. America was the hub of farming activities as there were large-scale plantations of tobacco, cocoa, coffee, sugar cane plantation, and cotton (Klein 2010). The slaves toiled and moiled in these farms in addition to mining in the silver and gold mines. They also worked in mega rice fields and for ordinary Americans as servants. There was also the construction industry as well as the timber meant for ships where the services of the slaves was highly required. Americans imported slaves from Africa and finished products from Europe and on the other hand exported its raw materials from farms which were mainly farm produce and minerals to European factories for further processing into finished products.
The Agricultural produce like cotton, coffee, sugarcane and tobacco among other farm produce were the primary raw materials for the rapidly growing European industries especially Britain (Hamilton 2005). It is however important to note that slave traders were categorized in terms of scale including Portuguese which took the lion’s share. Other slave traders include Britain, Dutch, Spanish, French, and Americans. The slavers were basically purchased from the local African leaders along the coastline with an estimated 12 million Africans being transported to work in mega farms in American as slaves (Hamilton et al 2005). However, the actual number is believed to be well above 12 million with majority being West Africans and their central Africa’s counterparts.
Europe
Europe was also immensely involved in the trade. European countries such as Britain, Portugal, Holland and France were involved in transportation of slaves from West African coast through their slave traders. The slaves were then transported to Countries in North America, Caribbean island and parts of South America where they toiled in the farms and mining fields. However, the key role that Europe played led by Britain is manufacturing of the raw materials into finished products. The factories in Europe obtained their supplies of raw materials from the American continent (Hamilton et al 2005). These raw materials included tobacco, cotton, coffee, and sugarcane. They also imported minerals such as Gold and silver.
The raw materials were then processed and turned into finished products such as textile, sugar, coffee, farm implements, and golden chains as well as silver wares. The farm implement were particularly exported to America where they were used for cultivation. Concisely, Europe imported raw materials to use in its rapidly growing industries and later exported most of the finished products to Africa and America. Thus, it was a recipient of raw goods and exporter of finished products which were both consumer goods and capital goods (Rawley 2005).
Discuss how each continent profited from the institution of slavery, regardless of how many slaves they actually possessed
The continents had tremendous benefits in connection to the institution of slavery. America was the direct beneficiary of slavery as African slaves were sold to slave traders in West Africa and directly transported to America. They worked either in the plantations or as ordinary domestic workers (Rawley 2005). As the number of slave workers increased in the farms, the overall from farming in American’s plantations also increased. This means, there was an increase in out put of coffee, sugarcane, cotton, and tobacco among other Agricultural produce. The duly harvested produce was then transported to Europe for manufacturing.
The countries in Europe also benefited fro the trade either directly or even indirectly. Some European countries like Britain, Portugal, Holland, and France were directly involved in purchasing slaves who were later to be transported to America to work in the farms (Klein 2010). As slave traders purchased more and more of these slaves, there was an increase in amount of workforce in American farms which I the long run had positive feedback on level of output. The increased level of Agricultural produce would the mean that more raw materials would then be transported to Europe (Klein 2010). Thus, industries in Europe were well fed with raw materials which also had positive return on output of finished product.
Explore the development of rice cultivation in South Carolina
The rice farming in South Carolina had for the better part of 17th century witnessed steady growth. The fundamental reason for a large-scale farming of this produce was the availability of adequate workforce. African slaves who were transported to America not only worked in the mega farms of coffee, tobacco, sugarcane and cotton but also provided labor in rice fields. This greatly led to the tremendous growth that rice plantation has experienced for several decades particularly in South Carolina (Klein 2010).
Trace the African origins of this agriculture, how it was brought to Carolina settlers and its impact on economic and social development of South Carolina
Rice cultivation in South Carolina begun in 1694 with labor largely drawn from African slaves obtained from West Africa and coastal Sierra Leone. Rice plantations off the coast of South Carolina in America were a collection of communities composed of primarily Africans together with their descendants (Allston et al 2004). The plantation owners learned how to dyke the marshes from the African slaves including how to flood the fields. During that period, sea Island rice cultivations were prominent with other plantations also found off the coast of Florida and Georgia in America. The primary focus was culture, traditions and life experiences of the plantation owners and their families (Allston et al 2004).
However, little tribute was paid to African communities for their pivotal role in management and operation of rice plantations. Besides, the enslaved African people played a fundamental role in constructing and preserving an ecosystem considered which is today considered world class. Rice farming in South Carolina resulted to a number of economic and social developments. Rice cultivation improved the living standards of the residents of South Carolina. In addition, it led to development of infrastructure as surpluses were transported to states in USA and continents like Africa and Europe (Allston et al 2004). It also led to spread of African culture as most slaves were found not only in rice plantations in South Carolina but also in other sectors leading to the emergence of a community of African Americans.
References
Rawley, J. A., & Behrendt, S. D. (2005). The transatlantic slave trade: A history. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press.
The transatlantic Slave Trade, Retrieved from:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/slav/hd_slav.htm
Hamilton, D. S., Quinlan, J. P., Centre for European Policy Studies. & Center for Transatlantic Relations. (2005). Deep integration: How transatlantic markets are leading globalization. Brussels: Centre for European Policy Studies.
Klein, H. S. (2010). The Atlantic slave trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Allston, R. F. W., & Easterby, J. H. (2004). The South Carolina rice plantation as revealed in the papers of Robert F.W. Allston. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
