Aim: What role did

geography play in the system

of Mercantilism?

1. Who is the

“Mother

country”?

2. What is

role of the

colonies?

Based on the political cartoon, what can you infer is

the definition of Mercantilism?

Mercantilism: economic system based on trade where a country accumulates gold and wealth by exporting more than it imports.

• The key to Mercantilism is self-sufficiency: a country that is able to produce all it needs for its citizens and is able to gain wealth by selling goods to other nations instead of buying goods.

• The goal is to export more than import.

What do the

colonies provide

to Great

Britain?

The role of the Colonies: provide raw materials (so that the mother country does not have to import from other nations)

Great Britain passed laws to enforce

Mercantilism:

• Required all exports and imports to be carried on British ships.

• Colonies were discouraged from buying goods from other countries (are only allowed to buy from Britain)

Who benefits from the Navigation Acts

(the colonists or GB)?

• Leads many colonists to become good smugglers (people who move goods illegally)

Great Britain needs raw materials from

the colonies—like wood and cotton….

• Indentured servants who work on a contract for 2-3

years are put to work cutting trees and picking

cotton, but once their contract is up in 2-3 years,

they are legally allowed to leave their ‘bosses’.

What can Great Britain do to increase profits

($$$)—have more trees cut for wood and

more cotton picked?

Get free labor to increase

productivity and profits

What was the Triangular Trade?A system of trade between Africa, the colonies,

and European countries.

Why did the Slave Trade Begin? Need for a cheaper work force—free in this

case.

Indentured servants were Europeans. They

got sick and were not able to work under the

hot climate and harsh conditions of

plantation (large farms).

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

or Triangular TradeInvolved 3 steps

1.First stage: manufactured goods (cloth,

tobacco, beads, guns, alcohol) from Europe

were sent to Africa.

2.The Middle Passage: slaves were sent from

Africa to the colonies.

3.Final stage: raw materials (cotton, sugar,

tobacco leaves, molasses and rum) were sent

to Europe from the colonies.

North America

Africa

Great Britain

#1

#2

#3

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

or Triangular Trade

The Middle Passage

• 5 times as many Africans arrived in the Americas than Europeans. The

majority were shipped to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Spanish colonies.

Closure 1. What role did geography play in

the system of Mercantilism?

2. How did mercantilism lead to the

development of the Transatlantic

slave trade?