Trans-Atlantic TRADE [APUSH Unit 2 Topic 4] 2.4

Summary

This video from the AP US History curriculum explores the transatlantic trade from 1607 to 1754, focusing on the triangular trade system. It explains how merchant ships traveled from New England to West Africa with rum, exchanged it for enslaved laborers, and then sailed to the Americas. The video discusses the brutal conditions of the middle passage and how the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788 attempted to reform these conditions. It also delves into mercantilism, the economic system driving this trade, emphasizing the importance of a favorable balance of trade and the establishment of colonies. The video concludes by highlighting how this trade system led to wealth accumulation, urban development, and the consumer revolution, which transformed societal structures and values.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The video discusses the transatlantic trade from 1607 to 1754, focusing on its causes and effects.
• 🔺 The 'triangular trade' was a three-part journey involving New England, West Africa, and the British West Indies, facilitating the exchange of goods and enslaved laborers.
• 📉 The 'Middle Passage' was the leg of the triangular trade known for its brutal conditions, which were later 'reformed' by the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788.
• 💰 Mercantilism was the dominant economic system during this period, emphasizing the accumulation of gold and silver and a favorable balance of trade.
• 🏛️ Colonies were established to provide access to raw materials and as markets for manufactured goods, supporting the mercantilist economic model.
• 🚢 The Navigation Acts were laws passed to regulate trade, ensuring that it was conducted in English ships and through British ports for taxation purposes.
• 💵 The transatlantic trade generated massive wealth for the elite, including merchants, investors, and plantation owners.
• 🌆 The trade transformed American seaports into thriving urban centers, contributing to the growth of colonial societies.
• 🛍️ The 'Consumer Revolution' in North America changed societal status, making it more about financial success and a refined lifestyle rather than family pedigree.
• 🌟 The transatlantic trade network, fueled by mercantilism, had a profound impact on societies across Europe, Africa, and America.

Q & A

What is the time period covered in Unit 2 of the AP US History curriculum?

Unit 2 of the AP US History curriculum covers the time period from 1607 to 1754.

What does 'transatlantic trade' refer to in the context of the video?

Transatlantic trade refers to the global economy that developed across the Atlantic Ocean, involving trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

What is the triangular trade?

The triangular trade is a term used to describe the three-part journey of merchant ships that started in Europe, went to Africa to trade goods for enslaved laborers, then to the Americas to trade those laborers for goods like sugar, and finally back to Europe to trade the goods for more European products.

Why was the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788 significant?

The Slave Trade Act of 1788 was significant because it limited the number of enslaved people that could be transported on ships, leading to a reduction in the overcrowded and brutal conditions they faced during the Middle Passage.

What economic system was dominant in Europe during the late 17th and early 18th centuries?

Mercantilism was the dominant economic system in Europe during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

How did mercantilism influence the establishment of colonies?

Mercantilism influenced the establishment of colonies by providing European powers with access to raw materials and new markets for their manufactured goods, which was essential for maintaining a favorable balance of trade.

What were the Navigation Acts, and how did they relate to mercantilism?

The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government that required trade with English colonies to be conducted exclusively in English ships and certain valuable trade items to pass through British ports for taxation, ensuring maximum gold and silver flow into Britain.

How did the transatlantic trade impact colonial societies economically?

The transatlantic trade generated massive wealth for the elites of society, including merchants, investors, and plantation owners, and transformed America's seaports into thriving urban centers.

What was the Consumer Revolution in North America, and how did it change societal status?

The Consumer Revolution in North America was a period where affluent families began to buy more goods, leading to a shift in societal status from being tied to family pedigree to being associated with financial success and a refined lifestyle.

How did the transatlantic trade fundamentally alter societies across Europe, Africa, and America?

The transatlantic trade created a global trade network fueled by mercantilism, which fundamentally altered societies by introducing new economic opportunities, changing social structures, and increasing the flow of goods and wealth across continents.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

This paragraph introduces the concept of transatlantic trade during the period from 1607 to 1754, focusing on the triangular trade system. The speaker explains how merchant ships would start in New England, trade rum for enslaved laborers in West Africa, and then transport them to the Americas. The middle passage, infamous for its brutal conditions, is highlighted, along with the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788, which aimed to reform these conditions. The paragraph also touches on the economic principles that drove this trade, specifically mercantilism, which was the dominant economic system in Europe at the time. Mercantilism is characterized by the belief in a fixed amount of wealth in the world, measured in gold and silver, and the importance of maintaining a favorable balance of trade with more exports than imports.

Keywords

💡Transatlantic Trade

Transatlantic Trade refers to the commerce that occurred across the Atlantic Ocean, primarily between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In the video, it is discussed as a critical factor in the development of a global economy during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The script highlights the triangular trade, a three-part journey involving the exchange of goods and enslaved laborers, as a key mechanism of this trade.

💡Triangular Trade

Triangular Trade was a trading system where merchant ships would travel from Europe to Africa, then to the Americas, and back to Europe, completing a triangular route. This system is central to the video's discussion of how trade was conducted during the period. The ships would carry goods like rum from Europe to Africa, trade for enslaved laborers, and then transport them to the Americas in exchange for commodities like sugar, which would be taken back to Europe.

💡Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was the segment of the triangular trade route where enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas. The video script describes it as infamous for its brutal conditions. It is used to illustrate the harsh realities of the transatlantic slave trade, emphasizing the inhumanity of packing enslaved people into ships, which was later 'reformed' by the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788.

💡Mercantilism

Mercantilism was the dominant economic system in Europe during the period discussed in the video. It is defined by the belief that a nation's wealth and power were directly tied to its reserves of gold and silver, leading to policies aimed at maximizing exports and minimizing imports. The video explains how mercantilism drove the transatlantic trade by encouraging the establishment of colonies to secure raw materials and markets for manufactured goods.

💡Balance of Trade

A favorable balance of trade, as mentioned in the video, was a key goal of mercantilist nations. It refers to a situation where the value of a nation's exports exceeds the value of its imports, thereby increasing its wealth in gold and silver. The video connects this economic principle to the motivations behind the transatlantic trade and the establishment of colonies.

💡Colonies

Colonies, as discussed in the video, were territories under the control of a distant metropolis, often used for resource extraction and as markets for manufactured goods. The video explains how mercantilist powers like Britain used colonies to access raw materials and to sell their products, which was a crucial aspect of the transatlantic trade system.

💡Navigation Acts

The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the British government to regulate trade and ensure that it was conducted in a way that benefited Britain. As explained in the video, these acts required trade with English colonies to be carried out in English ships and through British ports, which helped to maximize the inflow of gold and silver into Britain.

💡Consumer Revolution

The Consumer Revolution, as described in the video, was a significant societal shift that occurred in North America due to the wealth generated by transatlantic trade. It led to affluent families buying more goods, which in turn changed the way society was structured. The video highlights how societal status began to be associated more with financial success and material possessions, rather than just family lineage.

💡Economic Principles

Economic principles, as discussed in the video, are the underlying theories and concepts that govern economic behavior and decision-making. In the context of the video, these principles include the mercantilist belief in a fixed amount of global wealth and the need to maximize a nation's share of that wealth through trade policies and colonial expansion.

💡Global Trade Network

A global trade network, as mentioned in the video, refers to the interconnected system of trade routes and relationships that span across different continents. The video emphasizes how the transatlantic trade, driven by mercantilist principles, created such a network that fundamentally altered societies in Europe, Africa, and the Americas by linking them economically.

Highlights

Introduction to Unit 2 of the AP US History curriculum covering the period 1607 to 1754.

Focus on the causes and effects of transatlantic trade during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Description of the triangular trade system, involving a three-part journey across the Atlantic.

Explanation of how merchant ships carried goods like rum from New England to West Africa.

Trade of rum for enslaved laborers in West Africa due to high demand in the Americas.

The brutal conditions of the middle passage experienced by enslaved Africans.

The Slave Trade Act of 1788 and its impact on the number of enslaved people transported.

Continuation of the triangular trade with the exchange of enslaved Africans for sugarcane in the British West Indies.

Return journey of merchant ships to New England to trade sugarcane for rum, completing the triangle.

Introduction to mercantilism as the dominant economic system in Europe during this period.

Mercantilist belief in a fixed amount of wealth in the world, measured in gold and silver.

Goal of mercantilism was to maintain a favorable balance of trade with more exports than imports.

Colonies provided access to raw materials and served as markets for manufactured goods.

The British government's efforts to strengthen ties between the empire and its colonies through the Navigation Acts.

The Navigation Acts required trade with English colonies to be conducted in English ships and through British ports.

Impact of transatlantic trade on colonial societies, generating wealth for elites and transforming seaports.

The consumer revolution in North America, changing societal status from family pedigree to financial success.

Conclusion on the transformative effect of transatlantic trade on societies in Europe, Africa, and America.

Transcripts

hey there welcome back to heimler's

history now if you're just joining me

we've been going through unit two of the

ap us history curriculum which covers

the time period 1607 to 1754. and in

this video we got to talk about trade

and more to the point we're going to

talk about the causes and effects of the

transatlantic trade over time

saucy let's get to it so in the late

17th and the early 18th centuries trade

really became global and so we're going

to need to consider how a transatlantic

economy was developed trans means across

and atlantic means atlantic ocean so how

did a global economy develop across this

ocean right here that is an unusually

perceptive question and i've got the

answer so first let's talk about how the

trade was done and for that i need to

introduce you to the triangular trade it

was thus named because merchant ships

followed a three-part journey which when

being sketched out roughly makes a

triangle and it was much more complex

than what i'm about to explain but let

me just give you a taste of how this

works merchant ships would start in new

england for example and then carry rum

to west africa there they would trade

rum for enslaved laborers for whom

demand was spiking in the americas and

then they would depart from west africa

and sail what was called the middle

passage which was famous for its brutal

conditions now let's stop for a minute

before we continue on this section of

the triangular route this image is a

very famous one and you're going to see

it nearly every time someone talks about

the harsh conditions enslaved people had

to endure on the middle pass we look at

that image and we're horrified by what

we see but what you almost never hear

anyone talk about is that this diagram

was actually a reform image the british

parliament passed the slave trade act in

1788 which limited the number of

enslaved people that could be stuffed

into the hull of a ship and this diagram

was the result of that reform like this

was the compromise like stacking people

like this was the better version of what

was previously happening before the law

was passed so hopefully that helps you

see how awful the conditions were that

these africans endured as they crossed

the atlantic ocean now back to the

triangular trade once the ships packed

with enslaved africans arrived in the

british west indies those slaves were

then traded for sugarcane and from there

the merchant ships headed back to new

england where they traded the sugarcane

for rum and the whole thing began all

over again so that's how the

transatlantic trade worked in a very

simplistic form but now we need to talk

about what economic principles drove

this whole dang thing and for that i

need to introduce you to mercantilism

now mercantilism was the dominant

economic system in europe during this

time although at this point we're

starting to see other economic models

start to emerge but this new global

trade makes no sense unless you

understand how this economic system

works first it's going to be important

for you to know that in the mercantilist

worldview it basically assumed that

there was only a fixed amount of wealth

in the world and the reason for this is

that they measured wealth in terms of

gold and silver so obviously if that's

how you measure wealth there's only

going to be so much so the main goal of

a mercantilist system was to maintain a

favorable balance of trade and this

meant that a nation wanted to have more

exports than imports and that makes

sense if you're exporting goods what's

coming in gold if you're importing goods

what's going out gold so if there was

only a fixed amount of wealth in the

world then the mercantilist states

wanted to get as big a slice of that pie

as they could because hey there's only

so much pie and you know mama like pie

another important feature of

mercantilism was the establishment of

colonies and this had a two-fold benefit

first it gave mercantilist powers access

to raw materials that they couldn't find

in their own country and second those

colonies could then become markets for

their manufactured goods and so to this

end during this period the british

government tried to increasingly weave

the center of the empire together with

its colonies and one way they sought to

do this was through the passage of a

series of laws called the navigation

acts these laws required merchants to

engage in trade with english colonies

exclusively in english ships and also

certain valuable trade items were

required to pass through exclusively

british ports where they were taxed

again all of this was done in order to

assure that the british could have

maximum gold and silver coming into

their coffers now the last thing we need

to talk about is how this trade

fundamentally changed colonial societies

like this transatlantic cherry generated

massive wealth for the elites of society

which included merchants and investors

and plantation owners additionally it

transformed america's seaports into

thriving urban centers and these two

effects combined created a further

effect which was the consumer revolution

in north america affluent families began

to buy more goods and that actually had

the effect of changing the way society

was shaped and prior to this one's place

in society was tied strongly to what

family that person was from so after

this consumer revolution societal status

was more tied to financial success and a

refined lifestyle so the consumer

revolution meant that you were respected

in society not because of your family

pedigree but whether or not that beaver

skin hat was popping today so all that

to say the transatlantic trade created a

truly global trade network fueled by the

principles of mercantilism that

fundamentally altered the societies in

which it functioned whether the

societies were european or african or

american all right that's what you need

to know about unit 2 topic 4 of the ap

u.s history curriculum and if you're

struggling in your class then you know

how much got you check out my review

packet right here and it'll make all

your dreams come true if you want me to

keep making these videos and there's a

very easy way to let me know that and

that's to hit the subscribe button right

over there and i will keep making them

heimler out