The Significance of Atlantic Slave Trade and the Rise of Europe - Essay Example

Atlantic Slave Trade and the Rise of Europe The rapid growth of Europe in the period after the sixteenth century can be attributed largely to the growth of Western European countries that had direct access to the Atlantic Ocean and their direct participation in the slave trade. The trade and the colonialism associated with it had both direct and indirect effect on Europe in terms of economic, political, and institutional transformation. While the initial political institutions established before the 16th century had formidable checks on the monarchs. The expansion of the Atlantic trade gave power to the merchant groups as it gave them the necessary power to safeguard their property rights. It is in no doubt that the transatlantic slave trade served as the most formidable premise for modern-day capitalismis . This is due to its immense generation of wealth for various business enterprises across Europe and America (Acemoglu, Robinson, & James, 2002). Indeed, the trade made a substantial contribution to the industrial growth of north-western Europe. Moreover, it established a single Atlantic world that encapsulated Europe, the Caribbean islands, main lands of South and North America, and western Africa. Given that Europe acted as the epicentre of the transatlantic trade, the region received the greatest benefits from the slave trade that lasted for more than three centuries (Postma, J. 2003). It is noteworthy that modern economic development first emerged in Europe during the Industrial Revolution, with rapid urban industrialization, growth of cotton textile factories, as well as the increase in export-oriented industrialization. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, and the associated expansion of industries, the available sources of labour in Europe were largely insufficient to provide the much-needed services in all industries. There were two main reasons for the apparent lack of workforce; firstly, the cost of voluntary migrants was very high to be cost-effective in offering the labour necessary to develop America as Europe’s breadbasket. Secondly, even though some European nationals were forcefully kidnapped and placed at the equivalent of slave labourers in America. The process required an extensive basis that would have denied the home countries the labour forced needed to expand the fast-rising industries. This would have resulted in the rise of labour cost in the home countries and exacerbate the price of domestically produced goods thus making them more costly and less competitive in both the home and international markets. The comparison between the number of voyages made in the Mediterranean Sea and those made in the Atlantic Ocean shows a great difference. The trade voyages in the Atlantic by far surpassing those made in the Mediterranean (Eltis, 2001). Thus, it is clear that the Atlantic trade had the most significant contribution to the growth of Western Europe. This is with the opening of the routes to Africa, Asia, New World, and the establishment of colonial empires. Apart from the economic gains that the trade brought to the region. It also induced a great deal of institutional change as seen the alteration of the balance of political power through the strengthening of commercial interests beyond the royal circle. In countries that had easy access to the Atlantic and lacking strong absolutist monarchies, the transatlantic trade offered significant political power and substantial profits for commercial interests. The expansion of political power, and the heavy profits derived from the trade provided the countries with immense opportunities for growth as the countries traded more, invested more, and fuelled the rise of the First Great Divergence (Pomeranz, 2001). The high rise in the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean meant that more and more people were exported to work on plantations in America with the products being shipped to Europe as raw materials for industries. This led to what is popularly known as the triangular trade (Lindsay, 2008). The Industrial Revolution necessitated raw materials and hence more and more slaves were required to work in the industries. The products from the industries in Europe were then shipped to markets in Africa and Asia. The profits were then used to getting even more and more slaves to work in the American plantations, and others shipped directly to Europe to work in the industries (Gleeson & Lewis, 2012). The flow of people and goods in the triangular trade is depicted in the diagram below; It is clear that the rapid diversification of European exports and the subsequent growth of its economy rested largely on the Atlantic slave trade. For Britain, in particular, the engagement of the temperate colonies of North American mainland set it apart from its European rivals. The slave colonies had emerged due to the many opportunities that they presented to those who had the ability to mobilize capital and labour to tap into their staple exports. Growth and expansion of port towns and industrial cities The transatlantic trade had direct contribution to the growth and expansion of many seaport towns and cities. These include cites such as Liverpool and Bristol in Britain, Seville in Spain, and Bordeaux and Nantes in France (Guillaume, 2004). The major towns that served as manufacturing centres in Europe had a direct connection to the ports, which, on the other hand, had a direct contact with the transatlantic trade. In fact, the Industrial Revolution can be said to have started in these port towns. For instance, Manchester was the initial centre of industrial growth and the gateway of Industrial Revolution in Britain. It is clear that the growth of Liverpool was influenced by its role as the largest port for slave shipping in the world. Banking and insurance A great share of the profits made in the transatlantic slave trade was banked in Europe with the very first banks such as Barclays Bank being set up there. In fact, most pioneers of these financial institutions such as Alexander Barclay were the frontrunners in transatlantic slave trade. The popular Lloyds of London also has its roots in the transatlantic slave trade. It is the immense profits generated from slave trading that enabled the institution to evolve from a little-known coffee house into one of the world’s most popular banking and insurance institution. Growth of Industries By the middle of the eighteenth century, almost every major city in Europe had a direct connection to the colonial rule or the transatlantic slave trade. Thus, the profits generated from the trade were distributed across Europe, leading to massive growth in the whole region (Eltis, 1987). Away from Britain, other countries across Europe derived their economic growth from the transatlantic trade. For instance, Portugal gained enormous profits from the trade, even though much of the wealth passed out of the Portuguese hands to the hands of the most developed countries in Western Europe. These countries would then provide trade goods, ships, and loans to facilitate Portugal’s rapid growth. However, the countries that benefited directly from the trade were Germany, Britain, Holland, and France. For example, the St. Malo fishing industry in France was boosted by the growth of markets on French plantations that were flourishing with the introduction of enslaved Africans. Indeed, these countries have remained to be global economic powerhouses, and this is a clear demonstration of the formidable impact of the transatlantic slave trade on these countries’ economies (Blackburn, 2011). The ‘capitalist’ and ‘upper’ class in Europe exercised their control of the transatlantic trade, to make sure that Africa remained as a specialized exporter of slaves (Thomas, 2006). In fact, the Europeans continued to derive super profits from not only the exploitation of African labour resource but also its natural resources. The profits were re-invested in countries in Western Europe in various industrial sectors such as insurance, shipping, capitalist agriculture, manufacture of machinery, and technological development. In fact, the growth in machinery and technology was directly funded from the proceeds of transatlantic slave trade. For instance, James Watt, the pioneer of the steam engine, portrayed external gratitude to the West Indian slave owners for using their profits in the development of the steam engine (Thomas, 2006). In conclusion, it is plausible that the economic effects of the slave trade in Europe were far-reaching. From the rise of industries, increase in industrial output, expansion of major cities and towns, technological development, and even the rise of political domination. While regions in Africa and the Caribbean lagged behind for the exploitation of the human capital. Europe was riding on a wave of economic expansion as more and more slaves to America meant substantial increase in raw products for industries across Europe. Thus, the transatlantic trade can as well be used to explain the apparent economic difference between Europe and Africa. References Acemoglu, J, Robinson, S., & James, A. 2002. The Rise of Europe: Atlantic Trade, Institutional Change and Economic Growth. National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., NBER Working Papers: No. 9378, 2002b. Blackburn, R. 2011. Enslavement and Industrialization. Retrieved 19 March 2015 from < http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_article_01.shtml> Eltis, D. 2001. The volume and structure of the transatlantic slave trade: a reassessment. William and Mary Quarterly, 2, 1, 17-46. Eltis, D. 1987. Economic Growth and the Ending of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. New York: Oxford University Press. Gleeson, D., & Lewis, S. 2012. Ambiguous Anniversary: The Bicentennial of the International Slave Trade Bans. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. Guillaume, D. 2004. Profitability of slave and long distance trading in context: the case of eighteenth century France. Journal of Economic History, 3, 2, 112-132 Lindsay, L. 2008. Captives as Commodities: The Transatlantic Slave Trade. New York: Prentice Hall. Pomeranz, K. 2001. The Great Divergence: China, Europe and the Making of the Modern World Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press Postma, J. 2003. The Atlantic Slave Trade: Greenwood Guides to Historic Events, 1500-1900. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press Thomas, H. 2006. History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870. Phoenix: Phoenix Press Read More