Trans-Atlantic TRADE [APUSH Unit 2 Topic 4] 2.4

Summary

This video from Heimler’s History explores the intricacies of transatlantic trade during the period 1607 to 1754. Centered around the development of global trade links, the video delves into the causes and impacts of transatlantic trade, specifically through the lens of the triangular trade and mercantilism. Heimler highlights the harsh realities of the Middle Passage, the economic principles driving trade practices, and the fundamental societal changes resulting from this trade system. The wealth generated through transatlantic trade created thriving urban centers and shifted societal norms, emphasizing financial success over family pedigree.

Highlights

• Transatlantic trade in the 17th and 18th centuries was shaped by the triangular trade route. 🔄
• The triangular trade included transporting rum, enslaved people, and sugarcane between continents. 🌍
• The Middle Passage was notoriously brutal, depicting harsh conditions even after reforms. 😨
• Mercantilism, based on finite wealth, fueled the desire for favorable trade balances. 💹
• The Navigation Acts centralized trade through British control, ensuring economic benefits flowed back to England. 🏴
• The trade led to urban development and a consumer revolution, shifting societal values from lineage to financial success. 🏙️

Key Takeaways

• Understand the triangular trade as a key part of the transatlantic trade system in the 17th and 18th centuries. 🔁
• The Middle Passage was a brutal leg of the triangular trade noted for its inhumane conditions. 🚢
• Mercantilism drove European nations to maximize exports for more wealth, establishing colonies for resources. 🏴‍☠️
• The Navigation Acts were implemented to ensure trade occurred primarily within the British Empire, maximizing its economic benefit. 📜
• The transatlantic trade enriched elites and transformed societal structures and norms in the colonies. 💰

Overview

In the video, Heimler explores the mechanics and repercussions of the transatlantic trade, particularly focusing on the triangular trade system. This involved moving goods such as rum, enslaved Africans, and sugarcane across three continents, forming a trading triangle that supported the early global trade system.

The video delves into the brutal conditions of the Middle Passage, a grim leg of the trade where enslaved Africans faced horrendous conditions during their sea journey. Heimler explains this with the help of a historical diagram that aimed for reform, illustrating the dire conditions even post-regulation.

Furthermore, Heimler explains the economic theory of mercantilism, which served as the impetus for establishing colonies and centralized trade policies like the Navigation Acts. The video highlights how these trade routes not only enriched the elite but also led to consumer culture shifts, emphasizing wealth and lifestyle over traditional social hierarchies.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Transatlantic Trade The chapter titled 'Introduction to Transatlantic Trade' discusses the emergence of global trade during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, particularly focusing on the transatlantic trade routes. It highlights the need to understand how a transatlantic economy developed, considering both the causes and effects of trade across the Atlantic Ocean. The period covered spans from 1607 to 1754, a critical timeframe for understanding the dynamics of international trade expansion.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Triangular Trade Explained The chapter explains the triangular trade, a historical trade system involving three main stages forming a triangle. It illustrates how merchant ships, starting from New England, would carry rum to West Africa, where they would trade it for enslaved individuals to meet the increasing demand for labor in the Americas. The explanation highlights the complexity of this trade system, despite providing a simplified overview.
• 01:30 - 02:30: Middle Passage and Reforms The chapter discusses the Middle Passage, a leg of the transatlantic triangular trade route, notorious for its brutal conditions faced by enslaved individuals. It highlights a famous image often shown to depict these harsh conditions. Interestingly, the transcript notes that this image was originally a reform tool, created in the context of the British Parliament's Slave Trade Act of 1788, which sought to limit the number of enslavers per ship.
• 02:30 - 04:30: Mercantilism The chapter discusses the inhumane conditions endured by enslaved Africans during the transatlantic voyage, highlighted by a diagram illustrating how people were packed into ships. This uncomfortable reality was considered an 'improved' condition following legal reforms. Upon arrival in the British West Indies, these enslaved individuals were exchanged for goods like sugarcane, which was then transported back to New England, illustrating the mechanics of the triangular trade system.
• 04:30 - 06:00: Colonies and Navigation Acts The chapter explores the complex workings of the transatlantic trade, particularly focusing on the economic principles, specifically mercantilism, which was the dominant system in Europe during the time. It highlights the basic assumption in the mercantilist worldview, which is that there was only a fixed amount of wealth.
• 06:00 - 07:30: Economic and Social Changes The chapter explores the dynamics of the mercantilist economic system, which dominated in a period where wealth was quantified through gold and silver. The goal for nations operating under this system was to maintain a favorable balance of trade, aiming for more exports than imports. This strategy was driven by the concept of a fixed amount of wealth globally, leading states to maximize their share. The export of goods was seen as a means of acquiring wealth, whereas imports meant a loss of wealth. The desire of mercantilist states to secure as much wealth as possible dictated international trade practices during this era.
• 07:30 - 08:30: Conclusion and Call to Action This chapter titled 'Conclusion and Call to Action' summarizes the role of mercantilism in colonial expansion and trade. It explains how mercantilist powers, such as Britain, benefited from colonies by gaining access to raw materials unavailable in their own countries and utilizing these colonies as markets for their manufactured goods. To secure this system, the British government enacted the Navigation Acts, a series of laws obliging merchants to trade with English colonies, strengthening the economic ties and benefiting the mercantile system.

Trans-Atlantic TRADE [APUSH Unit 2 Topic 4] 2.4 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hey there welcome back to heimler's history now if you're just joining me we've been going through unit two of the ap us history curriculum which covers the time period 1607 to 1754. and in this video we got to talk about trade and more to the point we're going to talk about the causes and effects of the transatlantic trade over time saucy let's get to it so in the late 17th and the early 18th centuries trade really became global and so we're going to need to consider how a transatlantic economy was developed trans means across and atlantic means atlantic ocean so how did a global economy develop across this
• 00:30 - 01:00 ocean right here that is an unusually perceptive question and i've got the answer so first let's talk about how the trade was done and for that i need to introduce you to the triangular trade it was thus named because merchant ships followed a three-part journey which when being sketched out roughly makes a triangle and it was much more complex than what i'm about to explain but let me just give you a taste of how this works merchant ships would start in new england for example and then carry rum to west africa there they would trade rum for enslaved laborers for whom demand was spiking in the americas and
• 01:00 - 01:30 then they would depart from west africa and sail what was called the middle passage which was famous for its brutal conditions now let's stop for a minute before we continue on this section of the triangular route this image is a very famous one and you're going to see it nearly every time someone talks about the harsh conditions enslaved people had to endure on the middle pass we look at that image and we're horrified by what we see but what you almost never hear anyone talk about is that this diagram was actually a reform image the british parliament passed the slave trade act in 1788 which limited the number of
• 01:30 - 02:00 enslaved people that could be stuffed into the hull of a ship and this diagram was the result of that reform like this was the compromise like stacking people like this was the better version of what was previously happening before the law was passed so hopefully that helps you see how awful the conditions were that these africans endured as they crossed the atlantic ocean now back to the triangular trade once the ships packed with enslaved africans arrived in the british west indies those slaves were then traded for sugarcane and from there the merchant ships headed back to new england where they traded the sugarcane
• 02:00 - 02:30 for rum and the whole thing began all over again so that's how the transatlantic trade worked in a very simplistic form but now we need to talk about what economic principles drove this whole dang thing and for that i need to introduce you to mercantilism now mercantilism was the dominant economic system in europe during this time although at this point we're starting to see other economic models start to emerge but this new global trade makes no sense unless you understand how this economic system works first it's going to be important for you to know that in the mercantilist worldview it basically assumed that there was only a fixed amount of wealth
• 02:30 - 03:00 in the world and the reason for this is that they measured wealth in terms of gold and silver so obviously if that's how you measure wealth there's only going to be so much so the main goal of a mercantilist system was to maintain a favorable balance of trade and this meant that a nation wanted to have more exports than imports and that makes sense if you're exporting goods what's coming in gold if you're importing goods what's going out gold so if there was only a fixed amount of wealth in the world then the mercantilist states wanted to get as big a slice of that pie as they could because hey there's only
• 03:00 - 03:30 so much pie and you know mama like pie another important feature of mercantilism was the establishment of colonies and this had a two-fold benefit first it gave mercantilist powers access to raw materials that they couldn't find in their own country and second those colonies could then become markets for their manufactured goods and so to this end during this period the british government tried to increasingly weave the center of the empire together with its colonies and one way they sought to do this was through the passage of a series of laws called the navigation acts these laws required merchants to engage in trade with english colonies
• 03:30 - 04:00 exclusively in english ships and also certain valuable trade items were required to pass through exclusively british ports where they were taxed again all of this was done in order to assure that the british could have maximum gold and silver coming into their coffers now the last thing we need to talk about is how this trade fundamentally changed colonial societies like this transatlantic cherry generated massive wealth for the elites of society which included merchants and investors and plantation owners additionally it transformed america's seaports into thriving urban centers and these two effects combined created a further effect which was the consumer revolution
• 04:00 - 04:30 in north america affluent families began to buy more goods and that actually had the effect of changing the way society was shaped and prior to this one's place in society was tied strongly to what family that person was from so after this consumer revolution societal status was more tied to financial success and a refined lifestyle so the consumer revolution meant that you were respected in society not because of your family pedigree but whether or not that beaver skin hat was popping today so all that to say the transatlantic trade created a truly global trade network fueled by the
• 04:30 - 05:00 principles of mercantilism that fundamentally altered the societies in which it functioned whether the societies were european or african or american all right that's what you need to know about unit 2 topic 4 of the ap u.s history curriculum and if you're struggling in your class then you know how much got you check out my review packet right here and it'll make all your dreams come true if you want me to keep making these videos and there's a very easy way to let me know that and that's to hit the subscribe button right over there and i will keep making them heimler out