The Effects of the Triangular Trade on British Ports (SQA National 5 History): Revision Note

Summary

British ports played a significant role in the triangular trade. Most of the financial benefits occurred in Britain. As a result, the British prospered during the time of the trade in enslaved African people.

The three most important ports for the triangular trade were Bristol, Liverpool and London. Voyages that included the transport of enslaved African people also left from ports including Glasgow, Greenock, Lancaster, Portsmouth and Whitehaven. 

Ports on the west coast of Britain benefited the most from the triangular trade. Their locations shortened the journey time to Africa and the return voyage from the Caribbean. These ports received many benefits from their involvement in the trade. For example, there was significant investment in quaysides. Factories and warehouses developed and many employment opportunities in these ports were directly or indirectly linked to the trade in enslaved people.

The effects of the trade on London

• London was Britain’s main slave-trading port until the 1730s

• Slave-ships continued to leave London until 1807, when British involvement in the trade in enslaved people ended

• In total, over 800,000 African people were transported into enslavement by ships that left from London

• London became the financial headquarters of the trade in enslaved African people for British merchants and businesses

  • Banks and insurance companies that financed the trade were often based in London

  • Lloyd's of London started as a small business based in a London coffee house

    • The profits made from insuring slave ships allowed it to grow into one of the world’s largest insurance firms

  • David and Alexander Barclay made vast amounts of money from the trade in enslaved African people

    • They set up Barclays Bank to provide loans to other merchants

  • The Bank of England provided finance for slave traders and plantation owners

    • Some of the top people in the bank also owned plantations in the Caribbean

• The West India Docks were opened in London in 1802

  • These provided warehouses for the storage of goods produced in the Caribbean

  • The docks had a 21-year monopoly on trade with the Caribbean

• Many buildings, streets and parks in London were developed as a result of wealth made from involvement in the trade of enslaved people

• City of London officials, including Lord Mayors, were investors in the Royal African Company and so made vast profits from the trade

The effects of the trade on Bristol

• Bristol was the dominant slave-trading port in Britain from the 1730s to the 1740s

• By 1807, over 2000 slave-trading voyages had departed from Bristol

• By 1789, around 80% of all overseas trade from Bristol was with Africa and the Caribbean

• Many residents of Bristol made money from the trade in enslaved people

  • Factories produced copper sheathing for ships

  • Other Bristol factories produced goods like pots, pans and gunpowder that were traded in Africa

• Bristol’s sugar industry boomed due to its slave trade connections

  • At one time, Bristol had 22 sugar ‘houses’ or refineries

  • These refineries processed the crude sugars shipped across the Atlantic from plantations

    • The refined sugar was then sold to British consumers

• Bristol boomed as a city because of its involvement in the trade in enslaved people

  • Merchants spent money on fine new buildings in the centre of the city

• Many individuals made huge profits from the trade and used their wealth to gain political power

• Edward Colston made significant wealth from his involvement with the Royal African Company

  • He later became a politician and also donated money to schools and hospitals

  • Many streets and buildings in Bristol were named after him

  • A statue was erected of him - a sign of his influence and power at the time

The effects of the trade on Liverpool

• From the 1740s onwards, Liverpool was the dominant British slave-trading port

• By the late 18th Century, Liverpool was responsible for 75 per cent of all slave-trading voyages across Europe

• One in five African enslaved people was carried across the Atlantic Ocean in a slave ship from Liverpool

• Liverpool became a world leader in shipbuilding due to the demand for ships for the slave trade

• The triangular trade rapidly transformed Liverpool from a small town into a major port

  • In 1700, Liverpool had a population of 5000

  • By 1800, its population had increased to 78,000

• Local craftspeople and industries supplied the slave ships

  • These industries included linen, glass, leather and metal goods

• Estimates suggest that one in eight of Liverpool’s population depended on trade in enslaved people for employment

• In the years between 1787 and 1807, all of Liverpool’s mayors had a background in the trade in enslaved people

• In 1807, Thomas Leyland, a Liverpool slave merchant, founded Leyland and Bullins Bank