MEP- Unit 2

Question 1

What was so significant about Sir John Hawkins?

Answer 1

• Sir John Hawkins was significant to the English economy, he captured over 300 Potruguese ships and sold their goods and slaves.
• He was also involved in developing the transatlantic slave trade, he took part in 3 slave voyages, capturing slaves from ** Sierra Leone** and setting up a trade that would lead to British ships transporting 3.1 million Africans to America and the Caribbean, with 1/6 dying on the way.
• Sir John Hawkins was significant to science and technology, as he devel-
  oped the English navy by designing the powerful galleon ships that would defeat the Spanish Armada.
• Hawkins was significant for war and violence, as he was an important admiral, 3rd in command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth knighted Hawkins for his leadership in the battle.

Question 3

Why did English people migrate to the ‘new world’?

Answer 3

• Many migrated for economic opportunities. There was serious money to be made fishing for cod, or growing sugar, tobacco and cotton on plantations.
• Some, like the Pilgrim Fathers, migrated to practice their religion freely. Others wanted to convert the Native Americans to Christianity.
• The invention of science and technology like the new Lateen Sails and the perfection of the magnetic compass made migration possible by allowing ships to sail 100 miles a day accurately.
• Some migrated as they were inspired by individuals, often successful privateers and plantation owners like Sir John Hawkins and Sir Walter Raleigh.
• The ideas of indentured servitude and the transatlantic slave trade provided a framework for how life would work in America and inspired the migration of many more.
• By the mid-1700s there were 13 successful British colonies in America.

Question 4

What was the impact of indentured
servants and the slave trade?

Answer 4

• Plantation owners would pay for the passage of indentured servants, who were then transported to Caribbean islands like Barbados. They would promise to work for plantation owners for 6 years in order to pay off this debt. This idea led to migration from Britain, as now large numbers
  of poor people could migrate for the first time in search of economic opportunities.
• 72,000 indentured servants migrated to the new world in search of a better life. Their hope wasthat after working for 6 years on the Tobacco plantations they could set up their own farms.

> However, things did not work out for most indentured servants, as sugar took over from Tobac-
co as the main crop grown on Caribbean plantations. These farms were expensive to set up and

by 1667 80% of Barbados was planted with sugar cane, leaving no land for small farmers. The
work on these sugar plantations was done by slaves.
> England benefitted economically from the slave trade as by 1770 profits were £3.8 million a year. This money helped to build up port towns like Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow. Much of this wealth was invested back into the British economy, helping to fuel the industrial revolution.
> Rise of racist ideas to justify the idea that black Africans should be exploited. Long term legacy- colonization of Africa. Emancipation of slaves- discussions around the idea of liberty.