Heimler's History: Unit 2 - Transatlantic Trade

Overview

• Focus on causes and effects of transatlantic trade between 1607-1754.
• Unit 2 of AP US History.

Development of Transatlantic Economy

• Triangular Trade:
  • A three-part journey forming a triangle.
  • Route:
    • New England -> West Africa: Trade rum for enslaved laborers.
    • Middle Passage: Brutal conditions for enslaved individuals crossing the Atlantic.
    • British West Indies: Trade enslaved individuals for sugarcane.
    • Return to New England: Sugarcane exchanged for rum.

Economic Principles: Mercantilism

• Mercantilism:
  • Dominant European economic system.
  • Wealth measured in gold and silver, considered finite.
  • Goals:
    • Favorable balance of trade with more exports than imports.
    • Colonies provided raw materials and markets for manufactured goods.
  • Navigation Acts:
    • Laws requiring trade with English colonies in English ships.
    • Certain goods taxed at British ports.

Effects on Colonial Societies

• Generated massive wealth for elites (merchants, investors, plantation owners).
• Transformation of seaports into urban centers.
• Consumer Revolution:
  • Shift from family-based societal status to financial success and lifestyle.
  • Increased purchasing of goods altered societal structures.

Conclusion

• Transatlantic trade created a global trade network.
• Driven by mercantilism, it altered European, African, and American societies.

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Additional Resources

• Review packet available for AP US History.
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