The Impact Of Atlantic Slave Trade On British Economy Growth From The Mid-17th Century To The Early-19th Century

The Atlantic slave trade is an important part of the early years of the world economy and it is definitely the cornerstone of the trade among Europe,America and Africa.Britain was once a fringe country in Europe and eventually became the dominator and terminator of that era.In the first chapter,this paper expounds the importance of the study of the Atlantic slave trade to the world economy along with the theory about the mechanism between the trade and the rise of Britain.In the second chapter,this paper reviews the background of the Atlantic slave trade.It also explores the rise of the Atlantic slave trade and the force behind the trade including religion powers,labour shortages and the supply of African slaves.The third chapter looks at British participation in the Atlantic slave trade from a holistic perspective,including economic models,commodity types,slave prices,sources and quantities.Britain's slave trade had grown rapidly since the failure of the monopoly.This chapter also discusses the impact of African slaves,the only labour force available for the colony at that time on the colonial economy,mainly on the slave productivity and the sugar plantation economy,and points out that the sugar plantation economy was unsustainable on the eve of abolition.The fourth chapter is a study on the direct impact of the Atlantic slave trade on British economic growth,mainly from the view of the contribution of the net increase value of the Atlantic slave trade to British GDP.For most of the 18 th century,the Atlantic slave trade had made a great contribution to British economic growth.After the 1780 s,the Atlantic slave trade contributes little to British economic growth.Also,this chapter explores how Britain abolished the Atlantic slave trade under the pressure of a variety of forces,including economy,legislation and politics.The fifth chapter summarizes this paper and puts forward the enlightenment of the Atlantic slave trade.