Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic Economy

Chapter

The Heritage of World CivilizationsBrief Fifth Edition

The Heritage of World Civilizations, Brief Fifth EditionAlbert Craig • William Graham • Donald Kagan • Steven Ozment • Frank Turner

Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic Economy

17

Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic Economy

• Periods of European Overseas Expansion• Mercantilist Theory of Economic Exploitation• Establishment of the Spanish Empire in America• Economies of Exploitation in the Spanish Empire• Colonial Brazil• French and British Colonies in North America• The Columbian Exchange: Disease, Animals, an

d Agriculture

Conquest and Exploitation: The Development of the Transatlantic Economy

• Slavery in the Americas• Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Slave Auction Notice

Introduction

• European encounters with the Americas European traditions prevailed in Americas Gave Europe disproportionate global power

• Slave trade profoundly altered Africa

• Transatlantic interactions of populations

• Transatlantic economy

Global Perspectives:The Atlantic World

• How did the encounter of Europe and Africa with the Americas change the global ecological balance?

• Why was the Spanish Empire based on economies of exploitation? How was the labor of non-European peoples drawn into the economy of this empire?

Global Perspectives:The Atlantic World (cont'd)

• How and why did the plantation economy develop? Why did it rely on African slaves for its labor? What were the consequences of the slave trade for individuals and institutions in each of the three continents constituting the Atlantic world?

Global Perspectives:The Atlantic World (cont'd)

• Why do we think of the plantation economy as a global, rather than regional, system of production? Why was it the “engine” of Atlantic basin trade?

Periods of European Overseas Expansion

Periods of European Expansion

• Four periods of European overseas expansion

• Initial period of expansion Fifteenth through seventeenth centuries

• Colonial trade rivalry England, Spain, France Seventeenth through early nineteenth century

Periods of European Expansion (cont’d)

• New empires in Africa and Asia Nineteenth century

• Decolonization – mid-twentieth century

El Morro, Puerto Rico

Mercantilist Theory of Economic Exploitation

Mercantilist Theory

• A system in which governments heavily regulate trade and commerce in hope of increasing individual national wealth Favorable trade balance of gold and silver National monopoly of home country Colonies provide markets and natural

resources

Mercantilist Theory (cont’d)

• Desire to forge trade-tight systems Navigation laws, tariffs, prohibitions Discourage trade with other European nations

Mercantilism

Establishment of the Spanish Empire in America

Conquest of Aztecs

• Hernán Cortés (1484-1547) Small force of 500 soldiers

• Moctezuma II (1466-1520) May have thought Cortez to be Quetzalcoatl

• Cortés forms alliance with Tlaxcala Welcomed into Tenochtitlan Capture and death of Moctezuma II

• Cuauhtemoc defeated in 1521

Conquest of Incas

• Francisco Pizarro (ca. 1478-1541) Two-hundred men Military might that Incas did not understand

• Atahualpa (ca. 1500-1533) Tricked and captured by Pizarro Garroted in 1533

• Cuzco captured

• Full Spanish control not until 1560s

Consequences of the Conquests

• Conquests of Mexico and Peru Dramatic and brutal events

• Two huge amd powerful empires destroyed by small groups with advanced weapons

Consequences of the Conquests (cont’d)

• Spread of European diseases Smallpox Impact of isolation

• Turning point in Americas Entire civilizations destroyed

Roman Catholic Church

• Vast new regions opened to Catholic Church

• Relation to crusade against Islamic forces Policy of military conquest on ground of

converting non-Christians Eradicating indigenous religious practices

Roman Catholic Church (cont’d)

• Roman Catholic Church often acted as a conservative force Working to protect political power and

prestige of the conquerors

Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Black Legend

• Papacy turned over much of the control of the church in the New World directly to Spanish monarchy Conversion by Franciscans, Dominicans,

Jesuits

• Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474-1566) Dominican Deplored harsh conditions

Black Legend (cont’d)

• Emergence of “Black Legend” Spanish treatment unprincipled and

inhumane

Economies of Exploitation in the Spanish Empire

Economies of Exploitation

• Colonial economy of Spanish America was an economy of exploitation in two senses The organization of labor involved structures

of highly dependent servitude or slavery The resources of the continent were exploited

in mercantilist fashion for the economic advantage of Spain

• Conquistadores interested in gold

• Silver was chief interest of crown – quinto

Encomienda

• A formal grant by the crown Right to the labor of a specific number of

Native Americans For a particular time

• Usually a few hundred Native Americans

• Spanish crown disliked encomienda system Reports of poor treatment Also growing power of encomienda holders

Repartimiento

• Replaced the encomienda system Copied from the draft practices of the Incas Adaptation of the Inca mita

• Required adult male Native Americans to devote a set number of days of labor annually to Spanish economic enterprises

• Time limit led some Spanish managers to use their workers in extremely harsh fashion

Hacienda

• Royal grants led to establishment of large landed estates owned by whites Peninsulares – whites born in Spain Creoles – whites born in America

• Transfer of principle of large unit of privately owned land from Europe to America Laborers had formal servitude to owner Debt peonage

Hacienda (cont’d)

• Two major products – foodstuffs and leather

The Silver Mines of Potosí

Commercial Regulation

• Council of the Indies Nominated viceroys of New Spain and Peru

• Audiencias – subordinate judicial councils

• Corregidores – presided over municipal councils Opportunities for royal patronage

Commercial Regulation (cont’d)

• System of monopolistic trade regulation Casa de Contratación (House of Trade)

• Flota Fleet of commercial vehicles

Map 17–2. The Americas, ca. 1750

Colonial Brazil

Sugar plantations

Colonial Brazil and Slavery

• Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 Portuguese control over Brazil

• Very different labor practices than Spain Imported African slaves early

• Preeminence of sugar production Fazendas – large sugar cane estates

• Gold discoveries

• Portuguese allowed more local autonomy

French Colonies

• French explorers sailed down St. Lawrence River Fur traders Roman Catholic Jesuit missionaries

• Trade rather than extensive settlements Quebec – founded in 1608

• No drive to permanently claim land Reduced conflicts between French and

Native Americans

French and British Colonies in North America

British Colonies

• Settlement for enrichment Virginia and New Amsterdam

• Development by royal favorites Carolinas

• Refuge for English debtors Georgia

• Pursuit of religious freedom Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania,

Maryland

Fur Trade

British Interactions

• Complex relations with Native American population Little interest in missionary efforts English encountered no large native cities Occasional well-organized opposition Powhatan conspiracy, Pequots, Iroquois

• Agriculture was largest economic activity Southern colonies dependent upon slaves

• Close ties with England until 1760s

The Columbian ExchangeDisease, Animals, and Agriculture

The Columbian Exchange

• Massive movement and interaction of biological organisms after Columbus People, plants, animals, diseases Between Europe, Americas, Africa

• Shapes world up to present

The Columbian Exchange: Disease

• Long isolation of Americas Americans vulnerable to European diseases

- Pre-contact population figures controversial- Epidemics of European diseases killed huge

numbers of indigenous peoples- Facilitated European conquest

Syphilis transmitted from Americas to Europe

Map 17–3. Biological Exchanges

Smallpox

The Columbian Exchange:Animals and Agriculture

• European livestock revolutionized American agriculture

• European plants important to Americas Sugar Wheat

• American plants altered European and African diets

Global Foods

Overview The Columbian Exchange

Slavery in the Americas

Background of Slavery

• Slave institutions in sub-Saharan Africa were ancient Included traffic with Mediterranean world

• Islamic states of southwestern Asia and North Africa continued and expanded trade

Background of Slavery (cont’d)

• Different forms of slavery Chattel slavery was sanctioned form of

transatlantic trade Less dehumanizing forms of trade existed

• All slavery built on exploitation and degradation

Map 17–4. The Slave Trade, 1400–1860

Slavery in the Americas

• By 1600 the slave population exceeded the white population in the West Indies Decline in slave numbers in South America Slaves imported to Jamestown in 1619 Cultivation of sugar led to spread of slavery in

Brazil and West Indies- Only slavery provided enough workers for

profitable slave plantations

Slavery in the Americas (cont’d)

• Caribbean was world center for sugar production

Plantation Economy

• New World plantations formed vast corridor of slave societies – novel in world history Maryland to Brazil, also West Indies On periphery: West Africa, western Europe,

New England Still impacts these societies today

Plantation Economy (cont’d)

• Part of larger system of transatlantic trade Americas – labor-intensive raw materials Europe – manufactured items Africa – slaves, gold, ivory, wood

Slavery on the Plantations

• Conditions of slaves differed between colonies Vast slave-holding was the exception Slaves in Portuguese regions had fewest

legal protections

• Slave owners always feared slave revolts Revolts were actually rare

Slavery on the Plantations (cont’d)

• Slave laws favored masters over slaves Children of slaves became slaves Slave families could be separated

African American Culture

Daily Life of Slaves

• Daily life of most slaves consisted of Hard agricultural labor Poor diet and clothing Inadequate housing

• Death rate among slaves was high

Daily Life of Slaves (cont’d)

• Became separated from African religious beliefs Mixed Christianity with African beliefs

• European racial prejudice against Africans

Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Chronology: Conquest of the

Americas and the Transatlantic Slave

Trade

Transatlantic Slave Trade

• Plantations drew Africans into the heart of transatlantic economy West and central Africa – center for slaves

• Economic needs of colonial powers Willingness to exploit weaker peoples Built on racist notion that non-European, non-

white tribal peoples were subhuman

• Portuguese have early monopoly Later joined by other Europeans, Americans

Slavery and Slaving in Africa

• Oriental slave trade – trade to Islamic lands Sudan and Horn of Africa – main sources

• Occidental slave trade – managed by Europeans Western coast of Africa – main source Portuguese developed plantation system of

slave labor

Slavery and Slaving in Africa (cont’d)

• Until the full development of transatlantic trade, Africa had been no more significant than any other part of the world in the slave trade

Growth of Occidental Trade

• By 1650 the Occidental slave trade Equaled the Oriental trade Far surpassed it for the following two

centuries

• West Africa saw a sharp decline in productive male population Between 1640-1690 – number of slaves

doubled Increase in internal African warfare

Growth of Occidental Trade (cont’d)

• Formal end of African indigenous slavery Gold Coast – 1874 Sierra Leone – 1928

The African Side of Atlantic Trade

• Africans actively involved in slave trade European slave traders generally obtained

slaves from African middlemen at coastal fort towns- Sometimes private middlemen- Sometimes government-supported

They undertook actual capture of slaves

• Some African societies profited from trade Locations for slaves changed over the years

King Affonso I

Extent of the Slave Trade

• Greatest active period for Occidental trade 1701–1810 – 60% of total

• Total numbers still debated Number who died along the way unknown

- Middle Passage

• Best estimates Occidental trade – at least 11 million Oriental trade – at least 5 million Enslaved within African – 15 million

Map 17–5. Origins of African Slaves

Figure 17–1 The Atlantic Slave Trade, 1400–1800

Consequences for Africa

• Measurably changed patterns of life and balances of power By stimulating trade or warfare By disrupting previous market and political

structures By substantially increasing slavery inside

Africa By disrupting the male-female ratio

• Important regional variations in impact

Job ben Solomon

A Slave Trader Describes the Atlantic Passage

A Slave Trader Describes the Atlantic Passage

A Closer Look:The Slave Ship Brookes

• Print published in 1788

• Important abolitionist image

The Slave Ship Brookes

Review Questions

1. How were small groups of Spaniards able to conquer the Aztec and Inca empires?

Review Questions

2. What was the basis of the mercantilist theory of economics? What was the relationship between the colonial economies and those of the homelands?

Review Questions

3. What was the relationship between conquistadores and missionaries in Spain’s American colonies?

Review Questions

4. Describe the economies of Spanish America and Brazil. What were the similarities and differences between them and the British and French colonies in the Caribbean and North America? What role did the various colonies play in the transatlantic economy?

Review Questions

5. Explain the chief factors involved in the Columbian Exchange. Which animals from Europe flourished in the Americas? Why? Which American plants produced broad impact in Europe and elsewhere in the world?

Review Questions

6. Why did forced labor and slavery develop in tropical colonies? How was slavery in the Americas different from slavery in earlier societies?

Review Questions

7. What historical patterns emerged in the slave trade(s) within and out of Africa? Consider the gender and age distribution of slaves, their places of origin, and their destinations.

Review Questions

8. Compare and contrast the Oriental and Occidental slave trades. What was the effect of the transatlantic slave trade on West African societies? On East Africa? What role did Africans themselves play in the slave trade?