Economic Factors Flashcards
Eric Williams view
These men were very selective with their efforts and if they were truly motivated by humanitarianism they would’ve broadened their gaze to include other crimes such as working conditions
Why did Eric William think the slave system was being challenged
It was becoming unprofitable for those engaged with it and promote alternative systems
What relation did Eric Williams draw between the napoleonic wars and the popularity of the cause of the abolition
The French abolished slavery in their empire in 1794 so during this time it was seen as supporting the french cause to campaign for abolition however in 1802 slavery was made legal again so abolition was seen as anti French and therefore seen as anti French
Evidence for argument of the napoleonic wars
The foreign slave trade bill was put forward in 1806 and was sold as an anti french measure since it stopped the trading of slaves between Britain and France which would damage the french economy - the bill actually stopped 2/3 of the slave so paved the way to the 1807 act
Seymour Drescher
Showed that abolishing the slave trade actually did more to undermine the slave economy- and the old system of mercantilism upheld slavery until this was replaced by an informal free trade empire
Drescher - econicide
The British publics mobilisation against the slave trade forced London to commit econicide which was detrimental to Britain’s economic interests at the time
How many slave voyages took place between the 16th and 19th century
35000 and most left from Liverpool
How did the slave trade support the economy
By creating such demand for ships, the trade supported a growing economy and provided thousands of jobs and the network between the West Indies, Britain , the americas and west Africa created export markets for the merchandise that the factories was creating
Textile output
Between 1784-1786 and 1805-1807, 87% of Britain’s textile outputs went abroad with african makers. in return for slaves, african traders would be given those goods which included guns and ammunition as well as textiles so the benefits the slave trade went beyond the profiteering of slavery itself
Economic theories of Adam smith
His laissez faire approach argues that slavery is neither efficient nor as cheap as free labour and the basis of this argument came from the idea that if people are happy they will do their best work
How many voyages encountered revolts
1/10
How much profit is returned
20-50%
Slave ship ann
Undertook a voyage in 1753 which cost £3153 too fit out so traders risked losing a lot of money in the events of problems at sea
However the rewards made the risk attractive since the ship ann earned £8000
Risks of poor harvests
Cultivation of tobacco, sugar and cotton was an untested science so if they weren’t successful the cost would be very high
Debt experienced
By 1776, glasgow merchants were owed more than 1.3 million by their American merchants and in Liverpool 12/30 merchant houses had gone bankrupt by 1778
