preview

Trade And Manufacturing In America Essay

Decent Essays

Trade and Manufacturing in United States and Effects on the Economy

The action of buying and selling goods and services in America during the colonial and early republic era helped establish the United States’ economy and found the nation as a world power.
Before the founding of European colonies into Northern, America trade was plentiful in the Americas. The Spanish had discovered the New World and during their exploration had brought over and traded with Native Americans. The New and Old Worlds exchanged crops, and the most relevant of them include potatoes, maize, and sugarcane. These three crops were immensely beneficial to the Old World, and this created a connection between the two worlds. The relationship was advantageous to both …show more content…

The cycle began in Britain and other European countries. They would trade beads, copper, guns, ammunition, and cloth in Africa for slaves to work on sugar plantations and hemp plantations. The slaves “were transported in below-human conditions”(Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Many died along the way of their voyage, but those that did survive arrived in America and were put to work. British goods were “traded for slaves on the African coast, who were shipped to America and traded for the raw materials”(Erin). This system was beneficial to Britain as the raw materials gained from the Colonies supported their cause of Mercantilism, while they did not discover gold or silver as hoped, the commerce from raw materials supported Britain’s booming population. This cycle of trade would take around a year to complete(Boston Tea Party Historical Society).
Many New Englanders were making a huge profit off this business, and Britain realized and put the Navigation and Trade Acts into place which put a hefty tax on Colonial imports and forced them to only trade with Britain. These acts led some Colonists to smuggle their goods and make a profit under Britain’s nose. The New England Colonies were almost perfect. They had a plenitude of “natural resources and industries” but lacked fertile soil(Alchin). Therefore they could not produce their own crops and sustain

Get Access