Importance of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Colonial Unity

The Atlantic slave trade was the most important factor in creating colonial unity and strength in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade strengthened the American economy, but also strengthened the individual colonies as they worked towards a common goal. The involvement of almost all of the American colonies in the slave-trading enterprise, whether direct or indirect, in turn also connected the colonies to each other in an interconnected society, helping their people form a unique American identity.

With the rise of the Atlantic slave trade, the American economy boomed. In the southern colonies, slaves allowed owners of plantations to produce goods such as rice, sugar and tobacco in extremely cost-effective ways. As policies towards slaves grew harsher, the profits which were made grew exponentially too. With the introduction of concepts such as lifelong slavery and harsh punishments for any form of disobedience, plantation owners were able to export increasing numbers of goods to Britain where they sold for high prices. The slave trade, however, did not only develop the southern colonies into thriving societies. The middle colonies played an essential part in the slave trade, providing food to feed the slaves on southern plantations. This involvement meant that their economy, too, boomed, as their foods were bought in larger amounts as the demand for products bought from the southern colonies (and therefore also the number of slaves used) rose. Finally, the New England economies also experienced a boom, thereby also creating a thriving society here, due to their involvement with the slave trade. As the demand for goods from southern plantations rose, so did the demand for slaves – and since the New England colonies helped largely with the logistics of the slave trade, mainly through the shipbuilding industry, the demand for these ships went up. In turn, the New England economy experienced a boom due to the increased demand for its goods (ships). In each of these examples of the economy in the colonies growing, the people in the colony were able to buy more goods and the standard of living rose. This, in turn, contributed to thriving colonial societies, all due to the transatlantic slave trade.

The development and use of the slave trade also led to unity within colonies. Within a colony many of the inhabitants would be focused on a similar task which played a role in the slave trade mechanism. With many people completing similar jobs and working towards a common goal, the individual colonial societies became interconnected within themselves. In New England, many people worked in the shipbuilding industry, in the Middle colonies many people worked to produce food for slaves and in the Southern colonies many worked to manage plantations and the slaves which toiled on them. Each of these jobs had a heavy reliance on slavery and the slave trade, and each acted as a uniting force. With many people working on the same task the societies became interconnected.

Finally, the slave trade formed an interconnected and thriving American society as a whole. Each of the colonies began to rely on each other in increasing amounts – their success depended on the maintenance of the other colonies. The southern colonies relied on the New England colonies for the transportation of slaves, and likewise the New England colonies relied on the Southern colonies for demand for slaves. If either of these colonies suddenly vanished, the other would also quickly cease to exist. Similarly, the southern colonies relied on the Middle colonies for food for the slaves – and the Middle colonies relied on the Southern colonies for demand for their food. Finally, the New England colonies also relied on the Middle colonies and vice versa. If the slaves in the Southern colonies did not have food (which was brought from the Middle colonies), there was no purpose of bringing the slaves there in the first place (hence, there would be no purpose for the New England colonies). In turn, if the New England colonies did not bring slaves, there would be no need for food for these nonexistent slaves from the Middle colonies. This reinforces the idea that the slave trade created an interconnected web of colonies which had to work together in order for each to remain a thriving colony. The reliance of each colony on the transatlantic slave trade also was largely responsible for their unity and the formation of a unique “American” identity.

In conclusion, the transatlantic slave trade was the most essential factor in forming an interconnected and thriving American society. The transatlantic slave trade was the key mechanism which created not only economic boom in each colony – but unity amongst the members of each colony and unity and a sense of interconnectedness between all of the colonies together. Each colony was essential to the thriving of all of the other colonies.