The growth in the
various communities of the Atlantic World were all tied together by an economy
that was both directly and indirectly responsible for the migration of peoples
and creation of cultures. In all four of
the articles utilized for this study, there was an economy, or plantation
economies more specifically, that served as a common thread serving as the
backbone of the Atlantic World. The
following is a brief look at how these connections spanned the Atlantic to
affect several continents.
Perhaps the most
identifiable effect of the Atlantic trade economy is best summarized by David
Richardson in his writing titled; “Slavery and Bristol’s ‘golden age.’” Bristol, being an important port of trade,
flourished greatly as a result of the Atlantic slave trade in which it was
heavily vested. Though “much of its
wealth was already linked to American colonization,” (Richardson, 41) the slave
trade that touched all of the Atlantic World brought Bristol to national
prominence and major player in the shipping industry. Moreover, the “earnings from slave-based
activities were not confined… to the Bristol merchant elite. They percolated throughout Bristol society”
(Richardson, 48). Whether it was
tobacco, sugar, or slaves; Bristol was directly tied to the Atlantic World by
its shared interest in the Atlantic trade economy.
Tied directly to
trade in Bristol and the rest of Europe for obvious reasons was West
Africa. Robin Law and Kristin Mann doing
an excellent job of describing the role of the “Slave Coast” in Atlantic trade
in the co-authored work titled “West Africa in the Atlantic Community: The Case
of the Slave Coast.” Though it is easy
to dismiss the Slave Coast as simply a point of departure for vessels carrying
human cargo, “the creation of efficient commercial networks also fostered
continuing demographic, social, and cultural exchanges that shaped not only the
history of the community itself but also that of the regions of the world
connected by it” (Law and Mann, 332).
The economy of the Atlantic directly fostered a growth and need for the
export of slaves from the West African region.
With time, the integration of Europeans and South Americans into the
region was evidenced in many ways that changed not only the culture and
complexion of its inhabitants.
In Elizabeth
Kiddy’s writing “Congados, Calunga, Candombe: Our Lady of the Rosary in Minas
Gerais, Brazil,” she takes a close look at the influence and involvement of
those involved with Our Lady of the Rosary in Brazil. Though it might be odd to connect the dots
between a religious sect and the Atlantic economy, it really is quite
simple. “Although some rosary
confraternities were exclusively white in the early days of the captaincy, by
the 1750s almost all had become constituted predominantly by slaves, free, and
freed blacks” (Kiddy, 47). With the
growth of the Atlantic economy, or more importantly the plantation economies,
the Americas saw a large influx of African slaves from the years 1500 to
1800. Brazil took on an especially large
role as the point of entry slaves. The
members of Our Lady of the Rosary that were of African descent were just the
more ‘climatized’ to the culture that was fostered by the Atlantic economy.
Even in places
where slavery was not initially welcomed, there is an obvious correlation
between all nations tied to the Atlantic economy. James Spady gives an overly descriptive
example of just such a place in “Bubbles and Beggars and the Bodies of
Laborers: The Georgia Trusteeship’s Colonialism Reconsidered.” In it, Spady goes in depth exploring the
Georgian colony’s quest to define itself.
The most important point of contention at the time was the Trusteeships
refusal to allow slave labor, even though the opposition found white labor not
serviceable as they struggled to make profitable the plantations of
Georgia. The struggle for the colony was
only further complicated by the influence of the Atlantic economy and those
involved with it.
I agree with your statement that the Atlantic slave trade affected the Atlantic communities whether it was directly as in Bristol and the Slave Coast or indirectly as in Minas Gerais and Georgia. The global economy revolved around the slave trade during this time. Through the slave trade, Bristol was able to become a major slave port in Britain by competing with Liverpool and London in which it attained financial supremacy. Along the Slave Coast, the ports Ouidah and Lagos competed with neighboring ports as well. Indirectly, the slave trade affected Minas Gerais and Georgia through the social aspects of these communities. In Minas Gerais, the massive placement of Africans in a foreign land prompted a feeling of “social death” in which Our Lady of the Rosary fraternity filled the void with a sense of identity and community (Kiddy, 48). In Georgia, the Trustees desired to create a colony that emulated moral primacy by not allowing slavery, but the settlers wanted to be able to compete in the global economy and have slaves (Spady, 241). Overall, even though slavery and the global economy created the formation of the Atlantic communities, I believe local competition drove growth. Bristol was in competition with Liverpool and London in the British slave trade. Ouidah and Lagos were in competition with neighboring ports for the African slave trade. Brazil became the new home for a vast number of African slaves due to its supremacy in the sugar trade. The Trustees of Georgia, which idealistically wanted a moral colony eventually allowed slavery so that it could compete in the global market. Great post.
ReplyDeleteWe all agree that global trade, especially involving transport of slaves across the Atlantic Ocean drove growth in the communities which bordered the Atlantic. However, I think most of us failed to explore the second part of the question, i.e. "Was [the Atlantic trade] connected to the Atlantic ocean?" I know that my first response was, "Of course!", which is why I ignored it. On reflection, however, while I still feel that the linkage of global trade with the Atlantic still exists, the Atlantic trade was not exlusively an Atlantic Ocean trade.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 8th century, Spain had a prosperous Manilla Galleon trade, by which Spain obtained goods from China by way of Mexico from 1568 until 1815. Spanish galleons travelled from Acapulco, (on the west coast of Mexico), to Manila, (in the Phillipines) laden with ingots of Mexican silver dug out by indigenous and African slaves (a product of the Atlantic slave trade.) In Manila the merchants met Chinese merchants who sold them silk, spices, chinaware and other valuable goods, The galleons then travelled back to Mexico, where their contents were transported by heavily guarded mule trains to the Atlantic port city of Veracruz, and embarked on the Spanish Treasure Fleet. The Treasure Fleet made a twice yearly trip to Spain.
Similarly, the cloth bartered by Bristol ship captains to African potentates in return for slaves was initially manufactured in and around the city of Bristol, by the end of the 17th century, cheap imported Indian textiles such as calico, were being sent on to Africa for use as currency in the slave trade. Much of this calico found its way to England via a combination of Indian ocean and the overland Silk Road trade routes.
Thus while the silk road trade which brought Indian textiles to African potentates, and the Manilla Galleon trade which brought Ming Empire goods to Spain show these routes to be a part of the "Atlantic trade" the fact that the primary circuit did not involve the Atlantic Ocean shows that the Atlantic trade was not necessarily at Atlantic Ocean trade.