The Negative Impacts of the Trade in Enslaved African People on the Caribbean (SQA National 5 History): Revision Note

Summary

Whilst the trade in enslaved people brought many positive benefits to Britain, the impact of the trade on the Caribbean was overwhelmingly negative. The populations of indigenous people of the Caribbean, including the Taínòs and Kalinago, decreased rapidly due to massacres and enslavement. Their cultures were lost and much of their history was erased.

Economically, the Caribbean suffered as there were few industries apart from sugar plantations and most of the profits made by this were sent back to Britain. Plantations had significant impacts on the environment, wiping out many indigenous species, destroying forests and creating soil erosion, which increased the likelihood of floods and droughts. 

Impact on indigenous populations

• Before the arrival of Europeans, the Caribbean was inhabited by diverse indigenous peoples; most of these people spoke Arawakan languages

  • The Taínòs who lived on islands like Cuba and Hispaniola were virtually wiped out within the first 100 years of the arrival of Europeans

  • The Kalinago lived in the Lesser Antilles - their population had fallen by 90% by the 1700s

  • Early European colonists often massacred indigenous populations who showed signs of resistance

  • The indigenous populations were forced to work as enslaved labour on early plantations

    • The brutal treatment of the indigenous people of the Caribbean led to many deaths

    • Diseases which were brought by the Europeans, like smallpox, typhus, influenza and yellow fever, killed many indigenous people

  • Today, only around 100 Taínòs words are still known

  • Much of the history and culture of the indigenous people of the Caribbean was lost or destroyed due to colonisation

Economic impacts 

• Sugar dominated the economies of the islands

  • It made up 93% of all exports from Barbados

• Sugar crops were unpredictable and could lead to great variation in profits

  • Good weather could lead to a bumper harvest, while drought could ruin the canes

    • There was also a risk of hurricanes, which destroyed crops

    • Falls in the price of sugar negatively impacted Caribbean economies

  • The Caribbean did not really benefit economically from sugar profits

  • Much of the money generated from sugar did not stay in the Caribbean

    • As a result, the Caribbean lacked infrastructure

    • Other industries failed to develop

• The dominance of sugar plantations meant there was a lack of space for other agriculture

  • This meant the Caribbean became dependent on imported food from America and Britain

    • Hunger and even famine were common when these supply routes were disrupted

Political impacts

• Politically, white colonists dominated life in the Caribbean

  • British Caribbean colonies were managed by British-born governors, or Viceroys

  • White colonists created a hierarchical society where the indigenous and enslaved populations had no rights

    • White populations enjoyed access to markets, taverns, coffee houses, and libraries

• White colonists legalised violence through "Slave Codes" 

  • These stated that white enslavers could legally beat, torture, rape and kill enslaved people 

• The Slave Codes contributed to a cycle of violence

  • The resistance of the enslaved people to their mistreatment often led to even more violence

• Plantation housing (mansions for enslavers compared to basic huts for enslaved Africans) symbolised inequality

• Many towns and settlements in the Caribbean were given British names

  • This reflected the political dominance of the British

Environmental impacts

• The dominance of sugar plantations led to forests and habitats being destroyed to make way for more plantations

  • These industrial farms ruined the natural beauty of the landscape for profits

  • The biodiversity of the land was damaged by plantations where only one crop grew

• The clearing of land for plantations damaged ecosystems and contributed to floods and droughts

• Repeated sugar harvests reduced the soil fertility

• Deforestation made the Caribbean more vulnerable to droughts, floods and erosion

• Over 50 native species became extinct due to the expansion of plantations and the arrival of European animals