Effects Of Mercantilism

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As Great Britain conquered more and more of the New World, the economy was greatly impacted by international trade and its idea of mercantilism. The trans-Atlantic trade influenced the idea of slavery within the British colonies as well as encouraged the colonists to increase their agricultural production. With Great Britain’s mercantilist policies, the colonists main focus was benefitting the mother country, however, Great Britain limited their production and ability to trade internationally. British North America included areas such as the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Chesapeake and Southern colonies in which all economies were affected by Great Britain’s decisions differently. The idea of mercantilism was mainly …show more content…
Slavery, at this time, was a shift of the colonists perspective because it eliminated the idea of indentured servitude which was a contract that a person was indented to their slave owner for a certain amount of time. As this idea was omitted, the colonist began to look at slavery as unexpired labor, consists of people that were not protected by English common law, and also to the colonists it was easier for them to enslave outsiders. Race became an association with slavery and it also created a race based hierarchy which became obvious when white indentured servants were treated differently than the African slaves. Later, strict laws and restrictions of slavery would be adopted by the states. As a result of the increase in slavery the price for slaves declined. Additionally, the most influential ideas that were emphasized from slavery were the idea that there were no laws, no rules, and no regulations for slave labor. With the immense amount of slave labor, the colonists were able to establish a cash crop or staple crop which was whatever grew the best within that specific area. These areas became responsible for their cash crops and the colonies depended on their crops because they would export them to Great Britain thus benefiting their own colony. These slaves were forced to work as manual and skilled workers. Later on women slaves were also brought over for the African enslaved …show more content…
These three systems included the tobacco based plantations, the rice based plantations, and the non-plantation slavery. The tobacco-based plantation slavery in the Chesapeake area was the oldest and largest of the three. This plantation obtained over 270,000 slaves which was nearly half of the population. These plantations supplied the mother country with a valuable agricultural product which was tobacco. Also the plantations imported a large amounts of British goods. After 1680, the tobacco slaves experienced a rapid change from indentured servitude to slavery. The slaves in the Chesapeake areas were not only working in the fields but were also working as skilled workers. As slavery entered the Chesapeake area, the economy was broken into a hierarchy of freedom. At the top of the hierarchy were the large planters, under them were the lesser planters along with land owning yeomen, and finally at the bottom stood a great number of convicts, indentured servants, tenant farmers, and
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