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Abolitionism
The political and moral movement dedicated to ending the slave trade and the institution of slavery itself.
Asiento System
A royal contract granted by Spain that allowed foreign merchants, especially from Portugal and Britain, to supply enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies in return for taxes and fees.
Diversification
Expansion into new markets to reduce economic dependence.
Humanitarianism
A belief in promoting human welfare and dignity; during the eighteenth century, it became a guiding principle for reformers opposing cruelty and injustice.
Industrial Revolution
The transformation of European economies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through mechanization and industrial production, partially financed by profits from slavery and colonial trade.
Maroon Communities
Settlements formed by escaped enslaved Africans in the Americas and Caribbean. These communities, such as Palmares (Brazil) and the Maroons of Jamaica, resisted colonial authority and preserved African cultural traditions, often negotiating treaties to secure autonomy.
Maroon Communities
Settlements of escaped enslaved Africans who lived independently in remote areas, preserving African traditions and resisting re-enslavement.
Mercantilism
An economic theory that emphasized accumulating wealth through colonies and trade monopolies. Colonies provided raw materials and markets for European manufactured goods.
Mercantilism
An economic policy dominant from the 16th to 18th centuries that viewed colonies as existing solely to enrich the mother country. Colonies supplied raw materials and served as exclusive markets for European goods. This policy aimed to ensure a favorable balance of trade and build national wealth and power, often at the expense of colonial freedom.
Plantation Economy
An agricultural system based on large estates producing export crops using enslaved or coerced labor. Central to the wealth of European empires in the Americas.
Smallpox
A deadly disease that decimated indigenous populations after European contact.
Stono Rebellion (1739)
A major slave uprising in South Carolina in which enslaved Africans rose in armed revolt, killing several colonists before being suppressed. It led to harsher laws and increased surveillance of enslaved people.
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
A European peace agreement ending the War of the Spanish Succession, which granted Britain the lucrative Asiento contract and expanded its dominance in Atlantic trade.
Triangular Trade
A three-part Atlantic trading system in which European goods were exchanged for enslaved Africans, who were then sold in the Americas. Profits from colonial products returned to Europe, completing the triangle.