APUSH AMSCO Topic 2.4 Study NotesAPUSH AMSCO Topic 2.4 Study Notes

A P U S H I S T O R Y · UNIT2

Transatlantic Trade

AMSCO Topic 2.4

Learning Objective: Explain the causes and effects of transatlantic trade over time.

Study notes built from the AMSCO text only. No outside sources are added.

Big Picture

Colonists came for faith and wealth, but European governments saw colonies as a way to increase national power through trade. Mercantilism shaped British policy, the Navigation Acts regulated colonial trade, and weak enforcement (salutary neglect) let colonists resist regulation until 1763.

Triangular Trade

Merchant ships followed a three-part route linking North America, Africa, and Europe. A typical voyage from New England:

Leg 1: Rum from New England sold in West Africa for hundreds of captive Africans.

Leg 2: The horrific Middle Passage to the West Indies, where surviving Africans were traded for sugarcane. Leg 3: The ship returned to New England, where the sugar was sold to be made into rum.

Variations included stops in England or Spain. Every trade brought the slave-trading merchant a substantial profit. The Royal African Company monopolized the English slave trade in the 17th century, but by the late 1600s it could not supply enough enslaved Africans. Parliament ended its monopoly and New England merchants entered the business.

Mercantilism and the Empire

Mercantilism: a country's wealth is measured by how much more it exports than it imports. Governments promote exports and discourage imports with tariffs.

In this system colonies exist only to enrich the parent country by supplying raw materials. Spain and France followed mercantilism from the start; England applied it after the English Civil War (1651). Navigation Acts (1650-1673) set three rules: (1) trade to and from the colonies only on English or colonial- built ships with English or colonial crews; (2) nearly all imports to the colonies must pass through English ports; (3) "enumerated" goods (tobacco first, later a longer list) could be exported only to England. Impact on the Colonies

Helped Hurt

Boosted New England shipbuilding; gave

Chesapeake tobacco a monopoly in England;

English military protection against French and

Spanish attack; triangular slave trade largely

unaffected

Colonists could not manufacture their own goods and paid high prices for

English goods; Chesapeake farmers could sell only to England and got low

prices (1660s tobacco slump). When Virginia's House of Burgesses tried to raise

tobacco prices, London merchants retaliated by raising prices on exports to

Virginia.

Colonists also kept trading with American Indians for furs and food. This created cultural exchange along the frontier (some Indians adopted Christianity; some colonial men married Indian women). Intermarriage was uncommon, and couples almost always lived in the Indian community. Pocahontas and John Rolfe, who lived in Jamestown, were a rare exception.

Enforcement: Salutary Neglect

Mercantilism called for strict enforcement, but England was normally lax, a policy called salutary neglect. Why it was hard to enforce:

The Atlantic separated London from the colonies.

England had bigger problems: from 1642 to 1763 it faced the English Civil War, a revolution replacing the monarch, and four wars with France.

Colonial agents were often corrupt, so merchants evaded rules with bribes.

In retrospect regulation may not have been necessary: England and the colonies were natural trading partners. The Dominion of New England

1684: the crown revoked the Massachusetts Bay charter because the colony was a center of smuggling. Colonists in New England resented regulation and defied the acts by smuggling.

James II (king in 1685) wanted more royal control: combine colonies into larger units and eliminate representative assemblies. In 1686 he created the Dominion of New England (New York, New Jersey, and the New England colonies).

Sir Edmund Andros was sent as governor and became unpopular by levying taxes, limiting town meetings, and revoking land titles.

The Glorious Revolution (1688) deposed James and put William and Mary on the throne. This ended the Dominion, and the colonies again operated under separate charters.

Ongoing Trade Tensions

After the Glorious Revolution mercantilist policies stayed in force, but enforcement was never sustained enough to be effective. Until 1763 salutary neglect and colonial resistance to regulation continued. Trade regulation was not the only source of friction but remained the fundamental problem between colonists and England. Key Terms and Actors

Term / Actor What it is and why it matters

Triangular trade Three-part route linking New England, Africa, and the West Indies (rum, enslaved people, sugar).

Middle Passage The brutal Atlantic crossing that carried captive Africans to the Americas. Royal African Company Held the English monopoly on the slave trade until Parliament ended it. Mercantilism Economic theory that wealth comes from exporting more than importing; colonies serve the parent country.

Navigation Acts 1650-1673 laws controlling colonial trade (English ships, English ports, enumerated goods). Enumerated goods Colonial products (tobacco first) that could be sold only to England.

Salutary neglect Lax British enforcement of trade laws.

Dominion of New England James II's 1686 combination of northern colonies; ended by the Glorious Revolution. Sir Edmund Andros Dominion governor; unpopular for taxes, limits on town meetings, and revoked land titles. Glorious Revolution (1688) Replaced James II with William and Mary; ended the Dominion. Making This Essay-Ready

Causation: Mercantilist goals produced the Navigation Acts; distance, English turmoil, and corruption produced weak enforcement; weak enforcement plus colonial smuggling produced the crown's attempts at tighter control (1684 charter revocation, 1686 Dominion).

Continuity and change: Continuity: mercantilist rules and colonial resistance persisted to 1763. Change: James II's attempt at direct control collapsed in 1688, restoring separate charters.