THE TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMY AND TRADE WARS

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THE TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMY AND TRADE WARS
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TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMY AND TRADE WARS

• Introduction
• Austria vs. Prussia
• GB vs. FR
• Wars of the 18th C result in a new balance of
  power

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Periods of European Empire

• 1) Discovery/conquest 15th 16th C
• 2) Mercantile empires 17th 18th C
• 3) Direct administration 19th 20th C
• 4) Decolonization Late 20th C

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Mercantile Empires

• Treaty of Utrecht 1713
• Ended War of SP. Succession
• Set boundaries of empire
• SP - South America (minus Brazil), FL, Mexico,
  CA, and the Southwest, some of Caribbean
• GB N. Atlantic, some of Canada, Jamaica,
  Barbados, some of India
• FR St. Lawrence Valley, OH/MS River Valley,
  Hispaniola
• Dutch Surinam, Ceylon, Bengal, Java

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Mercantile Empires

• Mercantilist Goals
• Favorable balance of trade
• Increase exports/decrease imports
• Tariffs on imported products
• Encourage domestic industries
• Bullionism
• Acquisition of colonies for benefit of mother
  country
• Zero sum game
• British Navigation Acts

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Mercantile Empires

• French-English Rivalry
• Centuries-old rivalry
• Manifested itself from the West Indies to India

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Spanish Colonial System

• Colonial Government
• Viceroyalties
• Audiencias (judicial councils)
• Corrigedores (local officers)
• Municipal councils
• Bourbon Monarchy replaces Habsburgs after the War
  of SP Succession

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Spanish Colonial System

• Intendants employed
• Social Classes
• Peninsulares
• Creoles
• Mestizos
• Mulattos

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African Slavery, Plantations, the Atlantic Economy

• By the 16th C slavery became part of the
  political, economic, and social order of the
  Americas.
• The slave trade ushered in an unprecedented era
  of contact among Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

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Slavery, Plantations, the Economy

• African Presence
• Labor shortage
• Natives died from disease
• SP/Port turn to West Africa for slaves
• Sugar plantations needed labor
• Huge increase in Africans brought in the 18th C
  to New World
• Slaves outnumber Europeans in some areas

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• Triangle trade (Europe Africa the Americas)
• Middle Passage (Africa to the Americas)
• European racial attitudes
• Christians and Muslims shared various views of
  slavery
• Triangular Trade Routes
• The Middle Passage

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Slavery

• Experience
• Language and culture
• Revolts
• Daily life

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Mid-Eighteenth Century Wars

• Wars of the 18th C -Part of a second hundred
  years war 1688-1815
• War of SP Succession (1701-13)
• Treaty of Utrecht
• War of Jenkins Ear (1738)
• Grew out of T of U
• War of Austrian Succession (1740-48)
• Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
• Seven Years War (1756-63)
• Grew out of Diplomatic Revolution/Convention of
  Westminster
• Ended with the Treaty of Paris

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• War of SP Succession
• Prospect of the Bourbons controlling both FR and
  SP became a threat to GB in both Europe and North
  America

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• Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
• France lost Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the
• Hudson Bay territory to Great Britain
• Spain lost the asiento to Britain the West
• African slave trade with the New World
• Spain agreed to allow one British ship of
• merchandise per year through Panama.
• This was Britains attempt to crack open the
• Spanish colonial market to British goods

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War of Jenkins Ear

• Started over issue of Spains allegation of
  British abuse regarding the Treaty of Utrecht
  provision that allowed Britain to send one ship
  of merchandise to Central America per year.

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Spanish officials boarded a British ship
  suspected of smuggling goods into Latin America
  and cut off ear of Captain Jenkins, a British
  officer.
• Jenkins kept his ear in a jar of brandy and
  presented it to Parliament 7 years later
• In response, King George II went to war with
  Spain.
• Conflict expanded into the War of Austrian
  Succession in 1740.

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• War of Austrian Succession (1740-46)
• Frederick II annexed Silesia
• Violated terms of Pragmatic Sanction

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
• Preserved status quo in colonial empires
• Prussia defeats Austria but Austria loses Silesia
• Prussia now considered a great power

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Seven Years War (1756-63)
• Worst war since 30 Years War
• Another world war, fought in India, Europe, and
  North America.
• Cause Maria Theresa tried to retake Silesia
• Austria, Russia, and FR wanted to defeat Pr.
• Diplomatic Revolution (1756) FR Aust become
  allies, putting aside a century of dispute.

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Frederick II (r. 1740-1788) allied w/ GB in the
  Convention of Westminster.
• GB considered Prussia a stronger check on FR
  power.

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Treaty of Paris (1763) Ended 7 Years War
• Most important peace treaty of the 18th century
  and most important since the Treaty of Westphalia
  (1648)
• Prussia permanently retained Silesia
• France lost all its colonies in North America to
  Great Britain
• Britain gained more territory in India

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Eighteenth Century Wars

• Discussion Questions
• How does mercantilism play a role in the wars of
  the 18th century?
• How does the concept of balance of power play a
  role in diplomacy and war in Europe in the 18th
  C?
• Think in terms of GB, FR, Austria, PR