Atlantic World in the 18th Century

Atlantic World in the 18th Century

The Atlantic world in history shows the relations that were there between the countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean. There were several opportunities for economic exploitation in the Atlantic world during this period, which might be the main assumption that underlines the reason for the conflicts that were eminent. In the Atlantic world, the 18th century was the revolutionary era. During this period, slavery was prominent, with their masters, who were landowners, regarding them as property and not human beings. During the modern Atlantic, several rebellions were taking place because of the dissatisfaction with the kind of treatment the slaves were getting. The urge to create wealth in the Atlantic world was also a reason for the occurrence of several conflicts, some leading to violence. The conflicts during this period were not only because of the competition for wealth, but also for power

By conquering other territories, the European countries intended to exploit the countries for various resources, including sourcing for cheap labor. They were exploiting other nations through extraction of various minerals among other activities. To fulfill their economic needs, they had to source for labor by coercing people into slavery. This coercion led the European nations to embracing slave trade in order to get the workforce vital for production

. Through the Atlantic slave trade, the European nations were able to import labor from African countries. The conflict during this period was because of resistance to slavery, with many of the slaves advocating for a more accommodating environment. They were not comfortable with the kind of treatment they were being given and this led to the slow creation of their rebellion to the authorities.

Economic implications in the determination of the conflicts

Some of the African-Americans who were slaves in the 18th century were in opposition of the idea of slavery. In Long island, for example, there were several slave uprisings in the early years of the century. Some of the slaves led guerilla wars and involved themselves in various activities that were destructive, including the killing of white people. The retaliation of the authorities was through a lot of force, with quite a number of the slaves killed through hanging and through shootings by the forces of the authorities

. The whites in these countries wanted to suppress the rebellion from the slaves so that they could benefit from the cheap labor from the slaves. Considering this point, it is true that the slaves were giving the ruling elite the opportunity to create wealth. The suppression of the salves by the elite was the genesis of their rebellion, which was a precipitation of the violence that would follow. The enlightenment of the slaves on their rights, gave them the awareness needed to resist the suppression from their masters, which was also a determinant of the ensuing rebellion. The fact that the slaves did not have very close family members in their slavery made them less fearful in participating in the violence. This consequently made them less fearful and they were willing to die. Very few slaves had close family ties in their slavery

The separation of the Atlantic economic growth and slavery can almost be impossible. The invasion of Europe into the native lands of America, and some parts of Africa was mainly to get slaves who could work in their sugarcane plantations

. Sugarcane was the main economic activity in the Atlantic economy and the development of this industry was necessary for the economy. Sugar had a growing demand then, which sold at high prices, and so the farmers were getting high profits from the sale of the sugarcane products. There was the need to expand the sugarcane plantations so that the farmers could get maximum profits

. This hunger for more profits was a drive for the elite to get more slaves for labor. More slaves into the areas meant that the large numbers was an avenue for joining forces in resistance to the hard labor. For this reason, the large numbers of slaves were creating a larger force that would augment to rebel against the kind of oppression they were receiving. At the same time, the increase in the market for sugarcane and the sugarcane products provided opportunity for trading and this meant that they would require more slaves to work in these plantations.

Apart from the growing demand for sugarcane, coffee and tea from the Afro-Asian areas were also becoming an addiction to the European market. The high demand of the products all together increased the demand for slaves. The increase in the productivity of the Atlantic market created a demand for tools that for use in production. The European farmers were obtaining the tools cheaply from these Afro-Asian areas

. Through the exchanges, it is true that the interactions were an avenue for the creation of an increase in trade opportunities in the Atlantic world.

Labor implications to the conflict

Sourcing for labor for the sugar industries was initially from the indigenous America but the increase in the demand for labor prompted the Europeans to source for labor in Africa. Africans, just like the Amerindians and other slaves were resistant to the forceful slavery. On this basis, quite a number of rebellions arose. Quite a number of the American and African natives who were resisting the forceful enslavement were killed; some of them ran away to places where they could not be found. The Spanish authorities were placing the Amerindian slaves to the Caribbean plantations as slaves and in exchange, they were getting protection. The opportunity for the Spaniards in this case was the provision of civilization to the Spanish people. The contention arose from the forceful enslavement of the laborers, which brought about some conflicts

The enslavement of the Africans for labor in the European plantations was good for the owners of the plantations, despite the fact that they had difficulties in communication in comparison to the European laborers. Most of the African slaves were coming from tropical areas, which was advantageous to them. They were a little bit comfortable with the humidity and heat in the farms where they were working, which gave them a higher life expectancy in comparison to their American counterparts