Labor Systems Flashcards
1
Q
Mercantilism
A
- an economic system in which raw materials are used to produce manufacture goods in the mother country and sold back to the colony for a favorable balance of trade
- governments wanted to control imports to create favorable trade balance
- used by English and Dutch not so much the Spanish
2
Q
Indentured Servants
A
- 5-7 years of labor (usually in the agricultural field) and eventually set free
- brought a lot of English to the colonies
3
Q
Encomienda system
A
- the Crown allowed the use of Natives as slave labor to work the land for the European conquerors
4
Q
the Mita system
A
- a system already put in place by the Incas and continued by the Spanish
- a certain percent of the population was put to work in the silver mines
- forced labor
5
Q
slave trade
A
- 16 million taken from West Africa… 12 million making it
- 90% of the slaves went to Latin America (majority were males)
- average life of a slave working in the sugar plantations was 3 years
- demand for more slaves
6
Q
Russian slaves
A
- mostly peasant labor
- serfdom remained till 1861
- in Indian and China, work was in textile and silk
7
Q
what were slaves used for in the middle east?
A
- house work
8
Q
which countries took western Africans as slaves?
A
- Spanish and Americas
9
Q
What were slaves used for in the land that would become the United States
A
- agriculture, especially cotton
10
Q
Which raw resources were the slaves responsible for harvesting in Central and South America?
A
- sugar
11
Q
Who benefited the most from the mercantilism during colonial days?
A
- the mother country
12
Q
How did labor systems affect production during colonial days?
A
- it increased production
13
Q
what raw material were servants working with in China?
A
- silk
14
Q
which best describes mercantilism, a system from the colonial days
A
- producing raw goods form colonies & selling made items in return
15
Q
aside form the harsh work conditions, what else contributed to the short life expectancy of a slave in the americas?
A
- disease
