1688-c1730(6.1 Atlantic Trade)

Question 1

Who was the RAC founded by and why?

Answer 1

James 2nd to monopolise trade between England and Africa

Question 2

Where was the HQ for the RAC?

Answer 2

Cape Coast Castle but there were 17 more forts along the coast

Question 3

What was the biggest threat to the RAC?

Answer 3

> pirates who attacked and seized 100 slave ships until the 1722 Act of Suppression of Piracy put an end to piracy which had cost the RAC and other ships and cargo worth £100,000

Question 4

Between 1672 and 1713 how many ships did the RAC sent to Africa and how much did they export?

Answer 4

500 ships and exported goods worth £1.5m

Question 5

What happened after the Glorious Revolution?

Answer 5

> the RAC lost its monopoly and the triangular trade was opened to private business
generated jobs for Britons and lots of profit was mady by companies who traded enslaved Africans for goods to import to Britain like tobacco,sugar and cotton

Question 6

When was the Treaty of Utrecht and what was it?

Answer 6

In 1713-ended the war of Spanish succession(Spanish lost)
>Spain wasn’t allowed to buy slaves
>Spain granted Britain an asiento meaning Britain bought slaves on behalf of PSain in return for gold bullion
>the bullion was used by the newly created South Sea Company to expand trade in India increasing Britain’s wealth

Question 7

Cape Coast Castle

Answer 7

> has the infamous ‘door of no return’ through which thousands of Africans were shipped to the New World

Question 8

RAC monopoly:

Answer 8

> a business created by the stuart royal family
many Africans bought had intials DY branded on them to show they were property of duke of york
royal charter that set up the company gave it a monopoly of english trade with africa

Question 9

What is a monopoly?

Answer 9

> exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a service or commodity

Question 10

Benefits of the triangular trade being opened up to private businesses?

Answer 10

> provided employment for ship builders in Britain + those making goods
the factories on the african coast provided job opportunities at a time of high unemployment

Question 11

How did the triangular trade work?

Answer 11

> goods were carried from England to exchange for enslaved Africans
the enslaved Africans were then transported to America and sold
ships then took cargos of sugar tobacco and other goods back to england to sell

Question 12

How did the triangular trade affect Africans?

Answer 12

> devasted African society
took away the strongest most productive age group(young adults)
caused wars between communities

Question 13

Chattel enslavement:

Answer 13

> slaves viewed as objects, the property of their owners
took the strongest
encouraged wars that killed 10-12 million

Question 14

Challeneges to the trade and its profit

Answer 14

> resistance in africa-some african rulers opposed human trafficking, some attacked and destroyed european forts
uprisings on slave ships-1729 on the clare, captives rose up against the crew+forced them off the ship+mananged to get safely to land near cape coast castel
over whole period of triangular trade-500 rebellions
piracy-after war of spanish succession many men on royal navy war ships were laid off meaning wages fell+quality of food deteriorated(too many many to pay+feed)
sailors were treated worse than slaves because they could easily be replaced

Question 15

How did the plantations in the americas empower Britain?

Answer 15

> original inhabitants of barbados had been killed or died of disease so uninhabited
1620s english+dutch settlers cleared the land for cultivation and started growing tobacco but it was poor quality so started growing sugar cane
successful tobacco plantations were set up in virgina on large areas of land taken from the native americans

<by 1690s the tobacco and sugar plantations were efficient and thriving

Question 16

What was the middle passage?

Answer 16

> the transatlantic journey of slaves from africa to the americas

Question 17

Advantages of employing white workers(indentured labourers) on plantations

Answer 17

> spoke the same language as their masters
cheaper-half the price of enslaved africans
had high hopes of a future so they were positive and more hardworking

Question 18

Advantages of enslaved african workers on plantations

Answer 18

> coped better with climate and lived longer
agricultural skills had already been developed in a similar climate
more self reliant
faster at acquiring skills
more productive
skin colour made them easier to identify if they ran away
because they were owned their children were also property of the masters

Question 19

Disadvantages of european servants on plantations

Answer 19

> had a higher death rate
unable to work well in the climate
could be unpredictable+dangerous esp convicts
often ran away
temporary
as wages rose in england, indentured servants became more expensive

Question 20

Why did the plantations have strong support from the government?

Answer 20

> access to large quantities of valuable crops(sugar,tobacco, cotton)
new markets in colonies for british goods eg iron
work opportunities at a time of high unemployment
large profits for business which could then be invested
money through taxation to spend on armed forces+expanding empire

Question 21

Explain the demandm supply and profit cycle of the plantation system

Answer 21

> in britain more people wanted to buy sugar
to meet their needs planters ordered more enslaved africans from west african coast
in the caribbean more sugar was produced on plantation
across the atlantic, increased shipment of sugar to britain(profit for shipping companies)
in britain those who profitted had more spending power

Question 22

Why was the slave system not considered an economic success?

Answer 22

> bc they weren’t paid, enslaved africans weren’t motivated to work hard
the planters couldn’t hire +fire employees
they regularly rebelled
workers were hard to control + profits weren’t huge
system would have worked better with free european labour

Question 23

Why were the plantations considered highly successful?

Answer 23

> efficient, effective, modern business
over lifetimes, enslaved workers produced more profit than the cost of buying them
planters with enslaved workers made more profit than planters with free workers
plantation system paved the way for the industrial age

Question 24

What is emancipation?

Answer 24

> the freeing of slaves

Question 25

What was the gold bullion from Spain used for?

Answer 25

> used by the newly created south sea company to expand trade in India,increasing britain’s wealth

Question 26

‘The plantations were highly successful’(4)

Answer 26

> they were efficient, effective and modern
enslaved workers produced a lot more profit than their orignal cost
enslaved workers made more profit than free workers
the plantation system was the 1st example of a highly organised mass workforce on a production line, paving the way for the industrial age

Question 27

What made Europeans first sail to West Africa?

Answer 27

> its wealth in resources like gold, ivory, mahogany and spices

Question 28

Uprisings on slave ships(2)

Answer 28

1729-the Clare, captives forced the crew off the ship and reached land near Cape Coast Castle
1730-the Little George, captives took control of the ship and escaped

Question 29

By the 1690s, which plantations were becoming thriving?

Answer 29

> tobacco plantations in Virgina
sugar plantations in Barbados

Question 30

What is a plantocracy?

Answer 30

societies controlled and governed by and for the planters-backed up by military force and the law

Question 31

What are maroons?

Answer 31

runaway slaves who gathered in the mountains and formed their own communities

Question 32

https://quizlet.com/gb/512007184/history-gcse-ocr-migration-revision-african-slavery-flash-cards/