Transatlantic Economy,
Trade Wars, and Colonial Rebellion
AP European History
Mrs. Tucker
Main Points
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Europe’s concept of
mercantilism and empirebuilding.
The nature and decline of
Spain’s vast colonial empire in
the Americas.
The structure of slavery in
the Americas, and the role of
slave labor in the Atlantic
economy's plantation system.
The wars in Europe and the
colonies, particularly the
Seven Years’ War.
The conflict between Britain
and its colonies, and its
outcome in the War of
American Independence.
European Overseas Empires
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There have been four stages
in Europe's interactions with
the rest of the world:
1), by the end of the 17th
century, discovery and
settlement of the New World,
introduction of the
transatlantic plantation
economy, and market
penetration of Southeast Asia;
2) by the 1820s, mercantile
empires, with resulting
competition among European
powers, and independence in
most of the Americas;
European Overseas Empires,
Continued
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3) in the 19th century,
formal empires ruled
directly by Europe; and
4) by the late 20th
century, decolonization.
Prior to colonial
independence,
Europeans generally
treated indigenous
peoples as inferior. Ships
and guns gave Europeans
insurmountable
advantages. This chapter
covers the mercantile
period.
Mercantile Empires
Mercantilism, an economic
theory based on the
economy of scarcity,
assumed that the growth
of one nation came at the
expense of another.
 The goal of the mercantile
system was for each
European power to
monopolize trade with its
colonies, with the profits –
in the form of gold and
silver bullion – enriching
each ruling country..
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Mercantile Empires
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Colonial rivalries could
grow into conflicts
between European
nations.
French-British rivalry
was intense in the
West Indies and in
India. Dutch power in
what is now Indonesia
was acknowledge by
other Europeans
Spanish Colonial System
Spain administered her colonies
as if they existed to supply
precious metals to Spain and,
later, to increase Spanish wealth
and power through trade.
 Spain attempted to impose
monopolistic control on trade
with the colonies, by strictly
restricting the American ports to
which Spanish ships could sail
and outlawing any other
shipping.
 Smugglers and buccaneers,
however, always found ways to
carry out their work.
 The political system under which
the Spanish colonies were
administered concentrated power
in the crown; local officials were
appointed through royal
patronage.
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Spanish Colonial System
In 1700, when the French
Bourbon king Philip V took the
Spanish throne, he attempted to
introduce effective French
administrative techniques to
Spain's empire.
 Spain was defeated in Europe's
mid-18th century wars, and King
Charles III tried to use imperial
reform and colonial trade
liberalization to bolster Spain's
economy.
 He was somewhat successful in
the immediate term, but his
actions also stoked resentments
that would soon erupt into
colonial rebellion.
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Black African Slavery, the Plantation
System, and the Atlantic Economy
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The trans-Atlantic
plantation economy
created social, political,
and production systems
unlike any others in
world history.
Although slavery was
practiced in many other
times and places, the
extent to which the
plantation economy
depended on slave labor
made it unique.
Black African Slavery, the Plantation
System, and the Atlantic Economy
The racist element in the
justification for the trade in
black African human beings
left a cultural legacy that is
still with us.
 The sheer volume and
economic impact of the
slave trade itself, and the
goods produced by slave
labor, make slavery one of
the most important
elements in the history of
the Americas, and an
important factor in the
histories of Europe and of
Africa as well
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Mid Eighteenth Century Wars
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In the mid-18th century, the
European state system
encouraged warfare.
Monarchs believed they could
use war to further their own
ends without risking the lives
of their subjects or the
stability of their societies.
Overseas empires, and central
and eastern Europe, were the
objects of repeated
international rivalries. The
1739 British-Spanish conflict,
known as the "War of Jenkins'
Ear," became the opening
salvo in a period of European
warfare that lasted until 1815.
Mid Eighteenth Century Wars
Prussia, Austria, France, and other
European nations fought wars
that spilled over into colonial
conflicts. In the course of these
wars,
 Maria Teresa preserved the
Habsburg Empire, at the cost of
power-sharing with the nobility
and with the Hungarian Magyars.
 Frederick II saved Prussia,
becoming "Frederick the Great."
 Britain's secretary of state
William Pitt the Elder set his
country on the path to the global
dominance it would enjoy for the
next century and a half, by
deploying unprecedented
numbers of troops into colonial
battlefields.
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The American Revolution and
Europe
The Treaty of Paris of 1763,
ending the Seven Years' War, left
Britain with the problem of
financing its empire, and the
problem of administering vast
new North American territories.
 Starting in 1764, Britain passed a
series of taxes on the American
colonies that were often even
lower than existing taxes, but
that Britain intended to collect
more aggressively. In each case,
American resistance led Britain
to rescind most of the legislation.
 Tensions increased. By 1776, the
colonists' Continental Congress
declared independence from
Britain.
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The American Revolution and
Europe
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France and Spain entered the
war as American allies, and
the Americans victory was
ratified at the 1783 Treaty of
Paris.
Through this period, Britain's
King George III had alienated
Whigs and convinced radical
political theorists that he
wanted to impose tyranny.
The writings and examples of
John Wilkes in Britain, and the
revolutionaries in America,
provided a new vocabulary
and models of liberty and
sovereign government.