179
European colonies
Spanish, Dutch, and French settlers
pioneered the plantation system in
the Caribbean, producing crops
such as sugar and coffee on huge
farms, or plantations. Their principal
Caribbean colonies included Cuba
(a colony of Spain), Haiti (France), and
the Dutch Antilles (the Netherlands).
The use of slave labor on these
plantations generated substantial
profits for owners. The British
presence in the area increased in
the 17th century, when Britain’s most
successful colony was Barbados,
where there were 46,000 slaves by
the 1680s. In the 18th century there
was also a sugar boom in Jamaica.
Most of the native populations
were wiped out in the European
conquests, and European workers
did not fare well in the local
conditions, so plantation owners
increasingly relied on merciless
exploitation of slaves. Slavery wasalso prevalent in the colonies of
North America, especially the
southern areas where crops such as
tobacco were grown on plantations.
Slaves were often treated as non-
human objects, forced into labor
and subjected to cruelties such as
beating, branding, and worse.Slavery beyond the triangle
Colonists from Europe also practiced
slavery beyond the Atlantic trading
triangle. The Dutch pioneered slave
trading in Southeast Asia, and also
traded across the Indian Ocean
with areas such as Madagascar
and Mauritius. Most of this trading
was conducted under the auspices
of the Dutch East India Company,
which had its eastern headquarters
on the island of Jakarta, known to
the Dutch as Batavia, as well as a
base in Sri Lanka. From these
points they sent slaves around
the Indian Ocean, from easternTHE EARLY MODERN ERA
Indonesia to southern Africa. Once
the Portuguese and English had set
up bases, there was also further
slave trading along the Indian coast.
The slave trade was not solely
carried out by Europeans. Muslim
merchants also transported slaves
from East Africa for sale elsewhere
in the Muslim world.
However, the triangular trade
was a crucial element in the
creation of a global economy run
by Europeans and their colonial
offshoots for their own profits. It
permitted a phenomenal growth in
the wealth of countries that ran the
trade. In Britain, for example, the
value of foreign trade rose from £10
million at the beginning of the
18th century to £40 million at
the end. But the human cost of the
trade in slaves, which influenced
patterns of thought and behavior
for centuries to come, remains
incalculable today. ■The Middle Passage
The triangular slave trade turned misery for
some into wealth for others. While the profits
it generated accelerated the development of
European economies, the trade also displaced
millions of Africans.Slaves were sold
to merchants,
who bought
twice as many
men as women.After selling
their slaves,
merchants shipped
cotton, sugar, and
tobacco to Europe
where they reinvested
the profits and the
cycle began again.Manufactured goods
and textiles were
taken to Africa and
used to barter for slaves.321US_176-179_Royal_African_Company.indd 179 15/02/2016 16:42