So what of the Dutch impact in the Transatlantic slave trade? After all, they are only fifth in all-time slave trafficking and the other countries dwarf their numbers by well over 500,000. Nevertheless, a consensus among historians agree that the Dutch economy would not be what it is was without the impact of the slave trade.
“The early modern Dutch economy probably had the largest per capita income in the early modern Europe and was able to harness labor resources and expertise from a population that extended far beyond the relatively small pool of Dutch speakers. Amsterdam was the world’s leading capital market, and the Dutch merchant fleet was likewise the largest and most efficient anywhere.”
The Dutch triangle required the African …show more content…
Firstly, Emmer acknowledges that the Atlantic slave trade provided lucrative taxes, but does not reveal what percentage of the Dutch economy benefited from these taxes. Secondly, Emmer notes that slavery itself was not profitable which is problematic since he is determining what profitability looks like only through the WIC records. The WIC is not giving the Africans value, but rather viewing them as assets and liabilities. The end goal is to retrieve them with minimal loss and sell them for maximum gain. At no point are the slaves given the option of determining what they are worth. This being the case, the WIC sees the spreadsheet as gains and losses only in terms of selling rather than portraying the bigger picture. The WIC purchases goods from factories in the Netherlands and exports from the East Indies and the Caribbean. Every time the WIC does this, they are stimulating the Dutch economy, providing income to the VOC, and furthering sugar imports and profitability in the Caribbean. These external factors would not be considered by a corporation when defining profits. “The underlying assumption of those that slavery was not profitable to the Dutch is that Dutch economic development was and is independent of external …show more content…
To summarize: the Dutch acquired most of the slave forts and posts on the Western African coast from Portugal, providing accessible slaves; the VOC developed the WIC to supply them sugar and silver so as to maintain trade in the East Indies; the Dutch captured Northern Brazil from the Portuguese, committed espionage, and then reaped the benefits of their newfound knowledge on other Caribbean colonies; the Dutch brought the British and the French fully into the Transatlantic slave trade by providing them with the abilities to produce their own sugarcane; for roughly seventy-five years, the Dutch monopolized the slave trade; and the Dutch were one of the last Western countries to cease involvement in the slave trade. In conclusion, the Netherlands and her people are primary recipients who reaped the benefits of African trafficking. The Dutch forever changed the face of the slave trade and their impact should never be
“The early modern Dutch economy probably had the largest per capita income in the early modern Europe and was able to harness labor resources and expertise from a population that extended far beyond the relatively small pool of Dutch speakers. Amsterdam was the world’s leading capital market, and the Dutch merchant fleet was likewise the largest and most efficient anywhere.”
The Dutch triangle required the African …show more content…
Firstly, Emmer acknowledges that the Atlantic slave trade provided lucrative taxes, but does not reveal what percentage of the Dutch economy benefited from these taxes. Secondly, Emmer notes that slavery itself was not profitable which is problematic since he is determining what profitability looks like only through the WIC records. The WIC is not giving the Africans value, but rather viewing them as assets and liabilities. The end goal is to retrieve them with minimal loss and sell them for maximum gain. At no point are the slaves given the option of determining what they are worth. This being the case, the WIC sees the spreadsheet as gains and losses only in terms of selling rather than portraying the bigger picture. The WIC purchases goods from factories in the Netherlands and exports from the East Indies and the Caribbean. Every time the WIC does this, they are stimulating the Dutch economy, providing income to the VOC, and furthering sugar imports and profitability in the Caribbean. These external factors would not be considered by a corporation when defining profits. “The underlying assumption of those that slavery was not profitable to the Dutch is that Dutch economic development was and is independent of external …show more content…
To summarize: the Dutch acquired most of the slave forts and posts on the Western African coast from Portugal, providing accessible slaves; the VOC developed the WIC to supply them sugar and silver so as to maintain trade in the East Indies; the Dutch captured Northern Brazil from the Portuguese, committed espionage, and then reaped the benefits of their newfound knowledge on other Caribbean colonies; the Dutch brought the British and the French fully into the Transatlantic slave trade by providing them with the abilities to produce their own sugarcane; for roughly seventy-five years, the Dutch monopolized the slave trade; and the Dutch were one of the last Western countries to cease involvement in the slave trade. In conclusion, the Netherlands and her people are primary recipients who reaped the benefits of African trafficking. The Dutch forever changed the face of the slave trade and their impact should never be