What economics* were behind the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans?
*economics: The study of the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.
We do not want to reduce the despicable trade in humans to money. However, exploring how enslavement was integral to the British economy for a long time is important. We will look at: micro economies; how enslavement was an integral part of individuals making money (even allowing them to lend money). We then, of course, see how this is all linked to the Northeast of England.

Mercantilism*
*This theory is based upon the idea that there is only so much wealth in the world. Countries practising business in this way want to sell as much as possible and buy as little as possible to keep all of that wealth.
Mercantilism is an economic theory that helps a country to do economic battles with other countries.
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Britain was at war with many European countries since the 1600's. One way to battle them was through economics.
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Britain increased its exports to other countries which made it rich while, at the same time, charging those countries to export goods into Britain.
So how did this effect Britain's colonies?
Mercantile economics meant that Britain wanted to trade with its colonies, not its European competitors.
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Britain's colonies did not get the best price for the things they produced and sold to Britain. Also, colonies were not free to trade with who they wanted (and get a better price). This was a way of controlling colonies and economically battling Britain's European competitors.
In the West Indies, Britain directly used enslaved labour to keep costs as low as possible! Britain also traded with other nations that practiced enslavement, such as the USA.
Can you use a human to buy a house?
At this time, enslavers used enslaved people as objects, that could used to make money. Enslaved people had a monetary value.
This value changed; it could increase and decrease.
It also meant that those people could be used to secure a loan.
A mortgage is a large bank loan. To ensure a person can pay it back, that person must agree to put something in place if the loan cannot be paid back.
In countries that enslaved people, lots of those people were used to secure loans. That meant they could be taken by banks if their enslaver could not repay the loan.
The Northeast - Diversification.
People who invest in companies in the hope of making money will often 'diversify' their investments. This means that they will invest in a number of ventures*, rather than one. So, if one venture fails, and they lose money, they have money in other companies that they hope will make them a profit.
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TTEA was used by people in the Northeast of England (and many other parts of the UK) to diversify the investments of wealthy people from the region.
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Joseph Lamb
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Joseph Lamb, a Newcastle based coal merchant was a mortgagee to the Graham Clarke family who owned plantations and enslaved people in The West Indies. That meant that this wealthy man, from the Northeast, was the person who lent money to the Graham Clarkes. This money allowed them buy plantations and enslaved people.
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Lord Powlett
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Lord Powlett, once an MP for Durham County (1815-1831, son of William Harry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland), married into the Lowther family who enslaved people in Barbados. The Slavery Compensation Database notes, "The main source of wealth was clearly rentals and profits from landed estates in Britain." You can read more about this here: CLICK
Here are two examples that show how enslavement was seen by investors as a safe business to put their money into. As well as a business they had a very good chance of making a profit.
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*ventures: A risky or daring undertaking (or adventure)
Over to You!
Eric Williams
Slavery and Capitalism
Eric Williams, an historian who became the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, wrote a very influential book called Slavery and Capitalism.
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He states, 'Anglo-French warfare, colonial and commercial, is a dominant theme in the history of the eighteenth century.'
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How could gaining colonies be a form of warfare against another European country?
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What does Williams mean by commercial? (see Mercantilism above)
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How did some people in the Northeast benefit from an economy based on enslavement?
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Eric Williams in 1962
Av Joop van Bilsen, Anefo/National Archives, Netherlands. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
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What else can you find out about how people invested their money in the Northeast?
Become a history detective and see what more you can learn.