Effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Although the European colonization and subsequent development of the Transatlantic Slave Trade system from 1490-1750 left many social and political continuities such as the constant mistreatment of slaves, it led to many political and social changes like the rise of the French in the West Indies.
During this time period, the Spanish held most of the land in the Americas, therefore holding the most power, but newcomers such as the French and Dutch rose to power later on, taking much land away from the Spanish. During the 1490s-1550s, a few factors contributed to the rise of Spain in the Americas. First, the Treaty of Tordesillas ordered under the pope in 1494 gave the most beneficial lands to the Spanish, like the lands of the Inca and Aztecs. This led to increased production of products like sugar and silver, probably the two most influential products of the time behind slaves. This also showed how the pope still held power in politics, dividing lands among the countries to resolve conflict. This rise of the Spanish continued through the next century, from 1550-1650 but also gave way to the Portuguese. The Portuguese took lands in Brazil and focused on the sugar crop in the area. They put into practice a feudal system on the sugar plantations, much like those instated in Europe before the plague. This is important because this shows how the feudal system was used to put select higher lords over the laborers. This is a continuity that can be traced back to before the Black Death, which shows how important it was for elites to have power over the poor. In addition to slaves being used, the natives were also enslaved for purposes of working. The village elders developed a draft system to pick who would work for the Europeans. This ...

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...nto the 1550s, the English still faced resistance, but this time from the added efforts of both the French and the natives. These two groups greatly despised the English and their alliance showed how aid from the natives could benefit the newly arriving Indians. Moving on into the 1650s, the slaves and natives took arms in places like Panama and other European settlements, making it so dangerous to import slaves that the government banned slave imports in the area. This is significant because it disrupted the economies of Europe and the Americas since the slaves would die due to harsh conditions yet there were no slaves to replace them. This also led to the rise of fleeing instead of fighting, where the slaves would leave the plantations or establishments to run for the hills. This is important because it proved to be a less dangerous way for slaves to get freedom.