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Essay / The Challenges of Tracing Drugs, Slaves, and Guns in the United States Between 1600 and 1860 slaves, weapons and drugs. The British trafficked them from one place to another. Slaves were first trafficked by the Portuguese until the British caught up and became the largest slave trafficker in the 1700s. They trafficked African slaves from coastal areas of Africa like Benin and Liberia to their countries to work on their plantations (Gibbons 1). Before the start of the transatlantic slave trade, indigenous, Native American slaves worked on plantations in the Caribbean and West Indies. They also worked in the New York territories until the majority of them died from overwork and disease (Eltis 20). Additionally, the British traded gold coins, weapons, and gunpowder with the leaders of the African political elite in exchange for slaves. Finally, they sold opium medicines to China to boost the European economy, because China had a large market with very high demand. They also sold tobacco, coffee and tea. The European and American economies benefited from this trafficking, which they ensured was continued regardless of the obstacles. The following ideas support the view that demand was more important in the development and continuation of the three trades (slaves, weapons, and drugs) between 1600 and 1860. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySlave TradeThe Dutch were trafficked in slaves in the early years before 1700. They were captured by the Dutch or other Africans and delivered to busy and brutal places. conditions across the Atlantic Ocean. During the 1600s and 1860s, 9 and 11 million African slaves were brought to the United States through the transatlantic slave trade. The demand for African slaves varied from colony to colony depending on their economic structures. Demand was greater in the development and continuation of the three trades between 1600 and 1800. The economy of certain colonies was centered on large-scale agricultural production. Colonies such as Colonial Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Maryland. They could profit from the sale of products, including cash crops such as sugar, tobacco, rice, indigo and later cotton, and therefore needed large numbers of manual labor to work on the plantations (Anstey, 5). People who would plant, cultivate and harvest these crops. Thus, the high demand for African slaves led to the continuation of the slave trade. These southern colonies responded to their demands with extensive enslavement of Africans. Slavery was therefore necessary for plantation-based economies. By the mid-1600s, settlers, particularly those in Virginia, noticed how agricultural production in the Caribbean and West Indies flourished as a result of the use of Native American slaves (Eltis 20). They therefore decided that they would also sanction the slavery of Africans. They had to procure able-bodied men from Africa following the exhaustion of productive Native American slaves after being brutally handled by the colonists. Additionally, there was a high demand for African slaves to work on the roads and forts of the New York territories since the group of Indians had begun to rebel and provoke war. The Dutch Companyof the West Indies was therefore charged with the responsibility of bringing slaves to the territories of New York. There is evidence that in 1644 the Dutch West Indies Company trafficked 6,900 captives from the coast of Africa (Gibbons 1). Additionally, in the Hudson Valley, the demand for agricultural workers was high. Landowners in this region owned approximately three out of every five slaves in the area. The reason for this high demand was the monopoly of land by the elite of society. Colonists participated in the slave trade for economic reasons. Slaves were like property belonging to those who could afford them. A slave was also like a property that could be bought and sold, used to settle debts owed to others. Prices for slaves were very high in the different colonies. An example case is found in the Netherlands between 1636 and 1646. Here the price of slaves increased by 300 percent. Around 1660, African slaves could cost 300 florins. And over time, prices for slaves rose to 600 guilders and more. This shows how high the demand for slaves was (Gibbons 1). These slaves were ordered in large numbers by the British, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch to help improve their economies. The slave trade was therefore driven by demand and the greed of the settlers. In other words, the European demand for slaves therefore constituted the largest slave market ever seen. Labor shortages and increased mortality among native slaves then created a demand for African slaves (Smith 1). Gun Trafficking The slave trade took place between European settlers and African rulers. African rulers sold the captives in exchange for various goods such as weapons, ammunition, and other manufactured goods. Most arms-producing cities benefited from this trade, such as Birmingham, Britain's largest arms manufacturing city. They could provide firearms to trade for slaves. African rulers derived economic benefits from trading their slaves. The State of Benin participated in the voluntary slave trade solely for the profits it derived from it. They officially joined the transatlantic slave trade. The continuation of the slave trade was therefore fueled by African leaders for their selfish gains. This was specifically for the political elite of society to gain economic advantage. They received military technologies such as firearms and gunpowder, as well as gold, among other things (Smith 1). Africans preferred to trade slaves with the French and British rather than the Portuguese because they had less to offer, unlike their counterparts. These colonies were also willing to sell arms to Africans, unlike the Portuguese. The Portuguese attempted to impose commercial monopolies which were not effective. Guns were difficult to manufacture at the time and only a few people could have access to them. Demand from African leaders therefore fueled their manufacture as they were used in the slave trade. Drug trafficking The colonists also participated in tobacco cultivation. Virginia settlers planted tobacco, a cash crop in Jamestown, to keep their colony from collapsing. Tobacco was shipped to other economies to attract the money they needed. For example, the first shipment of tobacco from Virginia took place in 1617 to London to attract good prices. Tobacco cultivation and slavery were strictly practiced by the colonists. These two dominated Virginia society for approximately 240 years (Allingham, 1)..
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