British America 's Commercial Empire

“The Transformation of European Society” by Gary B. Nash talks about the economic, social, and religious changes that took place in the British colonies in the eighteenth century in North America. The author discussed that the people of a once strict hierarchical society of Europe now had a more democratic and individualistic American view. The vast land, which distinguished America from Europe, allowed people to get rich fast and climb the social ladder. Unlike America, in Europe there was a large disparity between the rich and the poor. If you were born a blacksmith's son, you would die a blacksmith. However, the vast amount of land in America offered great opportunities for growth. Poor farmers could become rich businessmen in no time in the northern colonies, which helped to develop an

From the 17th century until the 19th century, almost twelve million Africans were brought to the New World against their will to perform back-breaking labour under terrible conditions. The rationalizations and defences given for slavery and the slave trade were absurd and self-serving. Slavery was a truly barbaric, and those who think that they can control what another group of people eat, where they sleep, whether they are to live or die, or even whether they are to be bought or sold, are acting on a totally inhumane level.

The video titled Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation thoroughly reassesses the history of slavery. The documentary tells of how slavery was brought to America, and of the conditions under which these slaves were forced to live. The trade that began in Africa was not initially focused on trading humans, but rather on gold. Gradually, the British took control and started trafficking Africans to their colonies in America. The conditions slaves lived under changed drastically from the original conditions when they first arrived to America compared to years after the slave trade had been functioning. This documentary re-examines the appalling social injustice

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were an exciting period of time for the thirteen British colonies that would eventually become The United States of America. This time period saw the development of the colonies into self-sufficient entities, which would ultimately lead to the American Revolution. Although every colony was unique, there were similarities in the colonies that were close to each other geographically. Today, the colonies are grouped together into the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. The New England, Middle, and Southern colonies had both similarities and differences regarding their political, economic, social, and religious

In conclusion, the origins and development of Britain’s North American colonies was sustained by the need to stay in economic power. Bacon’s Rebellion, a high demand for cash crops, and an easy purchase of slaves through trade overall introduced and developed slavery to the Americas all while increasing economic status for England and their

(Devore, Lecture #3.) Even though most of the credit was issued from England, it allowed the colonists to buy more things and further strengthen and enhance the cohesiveness of the colonies. By this time the colonies had already well established external trade relationships with both the Indians and other countries. One of their major trade partners was the West Indies, where the colonists procured molasses from which they made rum. (Devore, Lecture #3.) All of these economic developments – consumerism amongst the colonies, Anglicizing of the colonies, the newfound availability and use of credit and the abundance of external trade – play a major role in the reasons that lead up to the American Revolution.

The article, “Economy in Colonial New England” talks about the economy in the New England colony, it says “In contrast to the southern colonies, which could produce tobacco, rice, and indigo in exchange for imports, New England's colonies couldn't offer much to England beyond fish, furs, and naval stores.” The New England colonies used the fishing and the construction of boats to maintain economically. They made soap, clothing and candles. Its exports fish, whale products, boats, wood products, furs, maple syrup, copper, horses, beer and whiskey. They had problems with agriculture, it was difficult to plant wheat because the quality of nutrients on the land was poor, but corn, pumpkins, rye and beans had better

For more than three and a half centuries, the forcible bondage of at least twelve million men, women, and children from their African homelands to the Americas forever changed the face and character of the western hemisphere. The slave trade was brutal and horrific, and the enslavement of Africans was cruel, exploitative, and dehumanizing. The trade represented one of the longest and most sustained assaults on the life, integrity, and dignity of human beings in world history.

When we hear the terms “slave” or “slave trade” the first thing that comes to mind is African Americans. Slave trade a term taught often in history classes has a meaning that has now become synonymous with African American. There term trade summons up images of exchanging goods for service. The sad truth is that this has not become a common sequence, almost like a math equation whose answer is always African American. Some useful ways to talk about slave trade is by restoring humanity to the millions who died under the racial global order. By referring to slave trade as “european slave trade” we are able to disconnect the word african from slave trade however, it gives the audience the wrong idea concerning the awful things these people went through. We need to bring humanity back to the name of the African Americans.

By 1600, England’s feudal system was nearing extinction, as a new family (Tudor’s) came to power and wanted support from the middleclass and the establishment of new liberties for Englishman (i.e. trial by jury and no arrest without a warrant), which resulted in a large amount of local and self initiative to prosper in the community: yet many beggars now existed, culminating in an increased need for colonial expansion both for personal prosperity and more space for the existing population.

Following the initial summaries of pre-colonial African history, the cruel realities of the African Slave Trade was represented by a pair of shackles and a yoke, both used to prevent escape by captives. Next to the artifacts was a life-like setting of a slave roped to a tree, forcing one to think about brutal realities of slavery. Further in the exhibit,

Title of Primary Source: ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVE TRADE ON THE COAST OF AFRICA by ALEXANDER FALCONBRIDGE

Most four centuries through mine death, you haveth called me here to meet with you in this strange restaurant of this strange city of this strange world of yours. What are those … gadgets? That clothing? The floor which we walk on? How achieveth—

After the failure of trying to hold on to its colonies in North America, the British focused mainly on India. The British East India Company after their success in Bengal would expand from several trading areas to the entire region of India. The British had an advantage during the late 1700s when the Marathas lost the war to the Bombay presidency and when the British captured Seringapatam. With the victory at hand, Great Britain was able to utilize India to produce raw cotton and an export market for the British textile industry. The industrial revolution in Great Britain helped manufacture those resources coming from India more quickly which helped reversed their trade with China. In 1828 the Chinese market increased its demand for opium grown

Slavery in America started with the European colonial period, taking slaves from Africa in the early 17th century. At this time, chattel slavery was set up in the Americas, where slaves were the property of the person who bought them and he could do whatever he wants with them. In general, the aim of the bondage was to exploit sugar, rice, cotton, coffee and tobacco plantations mainly; and in order to reduce the costs of the production, the owner of the land took slaves from Africa to the Americas to work for a cheaper salary through the triangular trade between Europe, Africa and America, across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies. The triangular trade has three stages; in the first one slave’s ships depart from Britain with weapons, tools, clothes, drinks, etc., then the ships go to Africa, where they change these items for slaves. In this second stage, slaves are captured by force by Europeans, as they thought that Africans were more used to slavery, and besides, enslaving a European was seen as an immoral act, because they were from the same community (Burnard, 2010). Africans were seen as animals, so they were treated like that, keeping them as prisoners in small rooms, with barely any chance to get fresh air. Finally, in the last stage, when the ship arrives at the Americas, African slaves are sold to the person that bade the highest, and they are forced to work for them, with inhumane treatments against them.