Dutch Slave Trade Essay -- essays research papers

Dutch Slave Trade   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the 17th and 18th centuries, mercantilism was the emerging economic policy through which the slave trade developed in Europe. In the Netherlands many historical events gave rise to a desire for domination of international trade. They were serious tradesman and were heavily involved in the profitable business of slavery. The Dutch, intelligent and self-ruling tradesmen took no time in displaying their dominance over rival countries, Portugal, England and Spain, in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. They established their international superiority in trade and impacted today’s society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From 1609 to 1713, the Dutch Republic was going through â€Å"The Golden Age.† It was a time of economic wealth, and a higher standard of life compared to most European countries. However, the Netherlands had the highest cost of living out of all European countries. It was the period in which mercantilism expanded, and domination of trading power was necessity. England, France, and Portugal were also expanding their boundaries of trade, which will begin a long fight for mastery at sea. The Dutch was the trading capital of the world at this time; in which is represented in this quote,† Although the Dutch tenaciously resisted the new competition, the long distance trading system of Europe was transformed from one largely conducted through the Netherlands, with the Dutch as universal buyer-seller and shipper, to one of multiple routes and fierce competitiveness.†(Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 24, pg. 890). The Netherlands operated in 7 provinces, k nown as the United Provinces, and the Dutch society was mainly consisted of bourgeoisie, sailors, and merchants. Because of the major trade industry in Holland, and that agricultural was secondary to the trading industry, the Dutch people were taxed extremely high for goods. However, a wave of culture flowed through Dutch Society, influenced by the economic profit that the Dutch gained from trade. The production of sugarcane and cotton in the New World increased the urgency for laborers in the new colonies, in which led to the major importation of African slaves. These plantations and farms, in the New World sparked the golden business of slave trading, a business that will guide the Dutch to economic wealth. The Dutch entered the slave trade around the 16th... ... ocean. These diseases were due to the minimum ventilation, light, food, and sanitation necessary to survive the trip across the ocean. The slaves were also chained to prevent revolts and committing suicides by jumping over-board. Traders even hired freed blacks to spy on the slaves, to prevent an uprising to occur. Nearly 1/4th of the slaves died during the journey across the Atlantic, which was an average of 2-3 months. The slave ship then had either two paths to take; one to the American colonies or to the West Indies. When the ship reached fresh water and land, the slaves were cheerful, explained here: It was reported that slaves danced with joy when they saw land and green trees again. For the managers of the slave ships, it was important that the slaves were in good spirits and looked healthy as they were prepared for the market. (Postma 168) When the slave ships arrived in the West, they had to be checked of any diseases that the slaves may have. Sometimes this inspection took almost 2 months. For example, the Vergenoegen was denied entrance into Surinam because of diseases. Once the disease had resided the ship was allowed to enter the harbor, and to sell its human cargo.