The Atlantic System(Commercial Revolution,

Phase II)MR. REGAN

Countries Involved

Spain & Portugal -- power declining Holland / Dutch Republic -- remained important in East Indies, but by

1700, were being supplanted be the English & French Both English & French commerce ballooned in the 18th century.

Joint Stock Companies

Private companies rather than governments financed the Atlantic System.

“East India Companies” and “West India Companies”, pooled the resources of various investors.

These companies exploited the Europeans tastes for a whole new range of consumer goods.

Triangular Trade / Atlantic System

Facilitated the exchange of goods between the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia

Imported from the East Indies and Ceylon…

Cinnamon Nutmeg Cloves Pepper Saffron Coffee Tea

These areas were also known for their production of fine cloth & rugs Light, brightly colored calicoes Muslins Chintzes

Became a sign of status & cosmopolitanism in Europe to have these items in your home

Sugar & Slavery

Sugar was the biggest money maker for Europeans

Small sugar islands in the Caribbean were more valuable to the British than the North American mainland.

Sugar production skyrockets in the 18th c., and slavery increases along with this.

1700 – 1786, over 600,000 slaves brought from Africa to the island of Jamaica.

Slave Trade

Originally dominated by the Portuguese & the Dutch; after 1718, it becomes dominated by the English.

Much of the profit from the British slave trade went in to England’s industrial expansion British capitalism & industry at home are direct beneficiaries of the slave

trade.

Since profits were so easy to come by on the sugar islands, plantation owners possessed little incentive to invest in the humane treatment of their slaves, causing one of the highest mortality rates in the world.

Results of the new Global trade

The profits promoted the development of the capitalist system of private business and property. Governments became dependent on entrepreneurs as a source of taxation to underwrite state borrowing of funds through banks and other credit institutions

The accumulation of wealth by the middle class tended to facilitate its merger with the aristocracy, as both gained power, status, and wealth, often through intermarriage.

The potential for great riches led to colonial rivalries that resulted in wars. Often the competition for territory within Europe coincided with overseas competition for colonies and markets.