The Industrail Revolution and the Atlantic Slave Trade

The Atlantic Slave Trade had to do with, as stated in it's name, trafficking African slaves across the Atlantic to colonies in the Americas. Slaves were a cheap labor source for plantations owners in the South. They were treated like property: people could buy, sell and trade them, and as long as they owned the slave, the owner also owned the next generation of that slave's family. Without slaves and the amount of hard labor they did, the plantations in the South would not have been possible. However, the slaves were not treated as human beings. This relates to revolutions because of the issue of equality. Slaves were whipped for the smallest things, even if they were too old, sick, or weak to work. Because equality was such a huge issue in the French Revolutions, this can be tied into slavery. Also, as Nicole said, if the slaves were to revolt, the entire economy would be overturned, as seen in the Haitian Revolution.

I never learned about the Industrial Revolution in Europe, however I did learn a lot about the Industrial Revolution in America in eighth grade, and I would guess it had to do with a lot of the same things. The industrial revolution was when machines and factories became a huge part of the economy. As a result of so many factories and working communities, cities became overcrowded. Woman and children were forced to work, and almost all workers were paid unfair wages. This fits in with the scientific revolution because as a result of science, machines and factories became possible. Socially, it still didn't help the problem of equality because poor people were forced to work in dangerous conditions, and rich people (owners of factories) could live in luxury.