Atlantic Slave Trade 1770- 1807

Impact of Slavery on Britain

LEARNING INTENTIONS Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Describe the various ways that Britain benefitted from its involvement in the slave trade

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 It is undeniable that Britain had a strong involvement in the slave trade. Most of the benefits of this were financial, although there were other ways Britain gained too.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 The benefits that Britain gained from being part of the slave trade can be summed up in six ways: Money and taxes Access to goods More jobs Bigger population Stronger navy Changes to cities

Money is the most obvious benefit from the trade. Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Money and taxes Money is the most obvious benefit from the trade. The British sold slaves as well as the products they grew. This made many people rich e.g. Richard Oswald from Ayr, Thomas Leyland in Liverpool.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 The British government also made a huge amount of tax money from the slave trade. As British companies made profits on goods such as sugar and tobacco, the government took a share of this. Tax money was used to fund government actions, including the military.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Access to goods Being part of the slave trade gave Britons access to the goods that slaves sold. Although products such as coffee were still expensive, they were still cheaper than may have been the case without slave links.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 More jobs Slavery created job opportunities for British people. Many worked in shipbuilding or as sailors on the slave ships. Other British people went to the Caribbean for work, including as doctors and lawyers.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 The money that the slave trade brought to Britain also helped create other jobs. The Industrial Revolution was funded partly due to slavery profits. This helped create factory jobs across Britain, with these workplaces using slave goods such as cotton.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Bigger population Britain’s population changed and grew thanks to the availability of jobs. The slave trade helped achieve this. Cities such as Liverpool saw a huge population increase to work in the city’s shipyards.

Britain’s military was also stronger because of slavery. Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Stronger navy Britain’s military was also stronger because of slavery. The large number of ships built to transport slaves and goods led to improvements in ship design. This led to better navy ships being built.

Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Many slave ship sailors also went on to work in the navy. This meant that they had a strong experience of sailing, including skills such as navigation. The government was also able to use extra tax money to pay for a stronger navy.

Changes to towns and cities Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807 Changes to towns and cities British cities saw an increase in population due to the jobs created thanks to the slave trade. In addition, rich merchants used their profits to build grand homes and buildings, such as in the Merchant City area of Glasgow.