3.2 A world economy: The VOC and WIC (part 2/2)

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3.2 A world economy: The VOC and WIC (part 2/2)

Transatlantic slavery

Goals for this lesson 

At the end of this lesson you...

• understand why the WIC was established.
• understand what role the WIC played in the slave trade.
• understand how the triangular trade worked.

Below are two statements:
I. The VOC was allowed to hire an army.
II. The VOC had a monopoly on the spice trade in East Asia.

1. Both are true
2. Both are false
3. I = true; II = false
4. I = false; II = true

The VOC was a multinational. What does that mean?

3.2 A world economy: The VOC and WIC (part 2/2)

Transatlantic slavery

Colonisation of the Americas (the west)

• Spain and Portugal were the dominant powers in the Americas. 
• The Dutch also wanted a share of the Americas.

Dutch colonisation of the West Indies

• 1621: Dutch West-India Company
  
• Monopoly on trade with North and South America.
  
• Privateering was also allowed > hijacking Spanish and Portuguese ships > capturing the Silver Fleet (14 billion euros in today's money) 

WIC (1621)

• West India Company
• Traded African slaves, sugar, tea, tobacco and weopons.

Fort Elmina (modern day Ghana)

WIC - Triangular trade

Slaves

Sugar, cotton & tobacco

Weapons & textiles

Dutch slave trade

•  About 600.000 Africans were transported and sold into slavery by the Dutch.
• Curaçao was the central hub for the Dutch slave trade.
• In 1863 (or 1873) slavery was abolished in the Dutch colonies.

www.slavevoyages.org