The British Empire's economy relied heavily on slavery, with slave labor producing valuable crops and the slave trade generating massive profits. This system shaped colonial development, concentrating wealth in plantation owners' hands and influencing British society and culture.

Slave revolts like the Stono Rebellion and New York Conspiracy Trials led to harsher restrictions on enslaved people. Meanwhile, a consumer revolution swept through colonial America, changing consumption patterns and social status markers while deepening inequalities and reinforcing the demand for slave-produced goods.

The British Empire and Slavery

Slavery's impact on British Empire

• Slavery became integral part of British Empire's economy
  • Slave labor produced cash crops (sugar, tobacco, cotton) on plantations
  • Crops exported to Britain and Europe generated significant wealth
• Transatlantic slave trade developed into major business
  • British merchants and investors financed and organized transportation of enslaved Africans to Americas
  • Slave trade generated profits for British ports, shipbuilders, and financiers
• Slavery influenced British society and culture
  • Wealth from slavery funded growth of British cities, industries, and cultural institutions (museums, libraries)
  • British elites often had direct or indirect connections to slave trade or slave-based economies (plantation owners, investors)
  • Racism and white supremacy used to justify enslavement of Africans
• Plantation economy shaped colonial development
  • Large-scale agricultural operations reliant on slave labor
  • Concentrated wealth and power in hands of plantation owners

Consequences of colonial slave revolts

• Stono Rebellion (1739) in South Carolina largest slave rebellion in British North America
  • Enslaved Africans killed several white colonists and attempted escape to Spanish Florida
  • Colonial militia suppressed rebellion, many rebels executed
• New York Conspiracy Trials (1741) involved accusations of slave plot to burn down New York City
  • Series of fires in city led to rumors of slave conspiracy
  • Over 100 enslaved Africans and some white colonists arrested and tried; many executed or banished
• Events led to increased restrictions on lives of enslaved Africans in colonies
  • Colonial authorities passed laws limiting movement and assembly of enslaved people
  • Increased efforts to regulate slave trade and growth of slave populations
• Rebellions and conspiracies heightened white colonists' fears of slave uprisings
  • Colonists implemented harsher punishments for resistance and tightened control over enslaved populations
  • Events reinforced racist stereotypes of Africans as violent and untrustworthy
• Colonial resistance to British authority sometimes intersected with slave revolts
  • Some colonists saw parallels between their desire for freedom and enslaved people's struggles

Colonial America and the Consumer Revolution

Consumer revolution in colonial America

• Consumer revolution refers to increased availability and demand for consumer goods in 18th century
  • British manufacturers produced more affordable and diverse goods (textiles, furniture, ceramics)
  • Colonial merchants imported and sold goods to growing middle class in America
• Consumer revolution changed patterns of consumption and social status
  • Ownership of certain goods became marker of gentility and respectability
  • Colonists increasingly purchased fashionable clothing, tea sets, and other items to display status
• New forms of sociability and leisure emerged
  • Tea drinking and social visits became more common, requiring appropriate furnishings and etiquette
  • Consumption of books, magazines, and musical instruments increased, reflecting growing interest in education and culture
• Consumer revolution impacted various segments of colonial society
  • Middling farmers and artisans could acquire goods previously only accessible to wealthy
  • Revolution also deepened social inequalities, as poorer colonists could not afford new consumer goods
• Growth of consumerism linked to expansion of slavery and colonial trade
  • Many consumer goods produced by slave labor on plantations in Caribbean and North America (sugar, cotton)
  • Profits from slave trade and slave-produced goods financed consumer revolution in Britain and its colonies

Social and Economic Impacts

• Consumerism led to increased social stratification
  • Access to consumer goods became a marker of social status
  • Created new distinctions between social classes based on material possessions
• Racial ideology developed to justify slavery and economic exploitation
  • Pseudo-scientific theories used to argue for racial superiority and inferiority
  • Reinforced existing power structures and economic systems
• Economic globalization accelerated
  • Increased trade networks connected different parts of the world
  • Colonial economies became more integrated into global markets