Dr. Shrout – Page 9 – Atlantic History

Post-Civil War changes in Cotton Production

November 16, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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Prior to the Civil War economies around the world depended on slave produced American cotton. The emancipation of slaves in America meant that cotton production would naturally fall and prices would increase due to labor costs that were previously non-existent. Concerns regarding land availability were shifted to worries dealing with who would cultivate the cotton. India capitalized on the new changing market, but rather than exporting to their traditional British and Chinese partners they found success exporting to continental Europe and Japan. Brazil and Egypt would also capitalize on the tumultuous American cotton industry between the 1850’s and 1870’s. Matthe Liivoja accurately states on his blog that, “This allowed the structure of slavery to change and America depended on cotton production in other countries to fill the void in the wake of Emancipation at the end of the Civil War.” Cotton entrepreneurs would still find ways to make money despite losing their work force. Sharecropping, money lending and crop liens presented new obstacles for cotton producers looking to make a living growing the crops. These new capitalist traps and market price fluctuations had adverse effects on already vulnerable rural grower’s living conditions. Indian and Brazilian cotton growers specifically faced devastation when cotton prices plunged in 1873 and food prices skyrocketed due to drought. All these new problems were caused by a new world cotton economy that no longer thrived on American slave labor. Basic economic principles like supply and demand and competitive pricing were magnified as foreign economies tried to efficiently make money in the newly open cotton production market. Bureaucrats and manufacturers assured the survival of capitalist friction that was represented previously by land owners and slaves. Rebellion in Brazil and India could not prevent imperial powers from finding cheap effective means of production despite the end of slavery at the end of the Civil War.

Cotton is King

November 15, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Cotton is King

The Industrial revolution shock the world market, it completely transformed the world economy leading to a large global market. As my classmate Robert stated in his blog post, British “textiles had helped launch industry and through its continued growth came a huge demand for cotton.” To meet the demand the United States southern plantation owners invested in more enslaved men, larger areas to cultivate and new forms of technology such as the cotton gin. By 1860 Southern United States plantations cultivated the majority of the world’s cotton; but while cotton production rose southern political power diminished, to the point where they felt succession was necessary. They formally declared their secession after the results of the 1860’s election, however, the new president-elect will refuse to let them succeed and will be forever remembered as keeping the Union intact. The war of Northern Aggression had begun, a war the southern confederacy thought wouldn’t last, after all, they figured they had the support of all of Europe. The North placed a blockade on the Southern States removing their ability to export their primary cash crop, cotton, by placing the blockade the Union made a great gamble, Europe was no longer acquiring cotton and therefore had a reason to back the Southern South, however, if they stayed out of the war the blockade would surely strangle the sSouthern Confederacy. English parliament was at odds its merchants required cotton but they couldn’t openly support a war based on the abolition of slavery. The solution they came up with was to outsource, during the American civil war production of cotton rose drastically in India, Brazil, and Egypt. These three countries/colonies rose to meet the demand of cotton and it paid off for Great Britain, they now successfully removed the middle man (northern merchants) and managed to acquire raw materials at a cheaper rate. This brought the three colonies into the world market, bringing large wealth into the area, however, it exposed them to the influx of the world economy. They now had to worry about falling prices for their raw goods that they were completely dependent on, during the depression is 1873 prices fell so low that may lose their farms. This form of trading reminds me much of the prices of oil, there are numerous countries that are completely dependent on oil prices and when they fall the nation suffers.

Seeds of Change: Cotton and the Civil War

November 15, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

When people think about the Civil War, they think about a war between the Anti-slavery Union and the pro-slavery Confederacy. What people don`t always know or think about is the effect cotton production had on the war and the changes that occurred afterward. At the time of the Civil War, home grown cotton was primarily cultivated in the South where ideal climates and the use of plantations as well as slave labor was held. Little did America know that cotton would actually play a role in capitalism and global trade. Since the South had trade relations with England, the North set up a blockade to prevent the cotton from being shipped overseas, thus cutting a supply network to the agrarian South. In relation to Viktoriya’s Post, I agree on the fact imported cotton declined and led to unemployment in the South. So, a divided America needed some other way to revive its cotton industry.

Not only did cotton production greatly influence trade, it led to Emancipation because the Union`s victory freed the slaves. It also caused turmoil and needed a supply of laborers to pick up the pieces. As a result, Great Britain needed to find other producers overseas. So, they looked to “West Africa and India (Beckert, 1420).” This allowed the structure of slavery to change and America depended on cotton production in other countries to fill the void in the wake of Emancipation at the end of the Civil War. Inventions like the cotton gin were exported to Europe and helped to accelerate cotton production in the United Kingdom. The Union, however, had relations with other cotton growers like “Egypt, South America and even India which aided Northern victory (Beckert, 1418).” Finally, England didn`t have to depend entirely on one country for one commodity, they could use others for cotton production. In conclusion, I have learned emancipation and the Civil War actually created a more diverse trade network across the globe.

the evolution of cotton production due to the American Civil War

November 15, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Typically, when the American Civil War is studied on a global scale it is to compare itself to other civil revolutions which took place around to globe. For example, how the American Revolution sparked the French Revolution. Yet, the direct impact that the American Civil War have on the global economy is not usually mentioned. One can argue that the impact the American Civil War had on the global economy is just as important as any social revolutions that came from it.

In the late 1850s the United States was the number one cotton supplier for European countries by a large margin. Further, cotton had become the core ingredient in the world’s most important manufacturing industry, the textile industry. Most of the work that took place in order to harvest cotton was performed by slave labor in the American south. Then this cotton would be sent to Europe for manufacturing. Thus, slaves were a vital component to the world economy in cotton production, At least for the moment.

At the time of the American Civil War, the North placed a blockade on southern exports, this included cotton. By 1852 cotton imports from the US fell by 96%. This had tremendous global impacts. European textile factories began cutting working days, and some even shutting down due to lack of material. This left many people unemployed, and a crisis erupted. Europe was learning that depending on just one country for materials was not acceptable, and soon started looking for places to receive cotton from. India and Egypt and also Brazil began to fill the voids in cotton that America has created. All did so without the use of slavery. This called into question the necessity of slaves in the cotton industry. As Steven Andreen said in his blog on industrialization, “The rise of industry and capitalism in the area changed the lives of people of all levels of the economic ladder on both sides of the Atlantic.” The impact of the America Civil War changed the lives of slaves by emancipation. It also caused the flourishing economies of Egypt, Brazil, and India to become a word player in the cotton industry.

Progress in the Cotton Empire

November 15, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Prior and during the Civil War, cotton was a major source of revenue. European, Asian, and Africa nations depended on the United States as a major source of the crop. Cotton was no longer a regional investment; it had become a part of worldwide commerce. As the United States entered a war, it was certain that the cotton industry was going to be heavily affected (Beckert, 1409). With the threat of slavery being dissolved, Southerners realized that had to come up with a solution in order to keep generating a profit from cotton crops. They began to rely on free labor. Citizens who took over were mostly farmers who worked on land that was rented or owned by them (Beckert, 1424). Countries such as Egypt and India began to modernize by building cotton-producing factories on rural land, thus meeting a growing demand for the plant (Beckert, 1413). Reformation of industrial systems outside the United States shows countries’ determination to meet the same level as their competitors. As nations in the Atlantic invested in the cotton empire, they were involved in operations that connected them by the way of commerce.

Sven Beckert’s article reminded me of “Sugar Islands,” where the Maderia and Canary Islands invested in sugar and led to successful commerce worldwide. Although there was competition from Brazil, the demand for sugar reveals there were successful markets between countries (Vierira, 67). They viewed sugar as not only a seasoning, but also a product to make money off of. I agree with Viktoriya Shalunova that “slaves were a vital component to the world economy in cotton production.” The cotton empire was successful to due backbreaking labor performed by slaves, as Southerners saw it. By using forced labor, the Southern states were able to further generate large profits by distributing this cash crop across the Atlantic world.

Primary Sources

November 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Images taken from the Digital Public Library of America.

I hope to illustrate just how important North American crops were in forming the modern day diets of the eastern hemisphere. These images clearly show how far these crops have spread and the importance they have.

Industrialism and Global Connections: the Good and the Bad

November 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

With the turn of the century the Atlantic world experienced a change in traditional forms of trade and economic growth, this was manly due to industrialization in Europe and the U.S. Within chapter 13 of The Atlantic World, industrial growth is achievable through a boom in population. I thought it was interesting that Egerton explains the growth in population as a result of infant mortality rates declining in Great Britain at around 1740. The decline being a possible affect of improved midwifery was fascinating to think about. Whatever the reason, Great Britian’s population growth would lead to an expanding working class which allowed for urban areas to be filled with new workers. I found it eye opening that the term “capitalism” had been used since European medieval terms yet it wasn’t until the time of the English Civil war around the mid 17th century that westerners thought of capital in a broader sense of surplus commodity. By 1793, the meaning a been slightly altered to describe a system more closely related to modern day capitalism, in which a small number of individuals can own and control the means of productions.

Textiles had helped launch industry and through its continued growth came a huge demand for cotton. Britain would buy from the Bahamas, and from the Southern United States including Georgia and South Carolina. Unfortunately this would help sustain a non-capitalist slave based society in the U.S. for years to come. For early nineteenth century U.S. citizens who owned slaves, they would develope into a wealthy elite group. This reminded me of Alberto Vicira’s article, “Sugar Islands,” as slave labor helped increase the economy and wealth of the Portuguese colonist. At the same slaves experienced brutal working conditions as they were commodified to further benefit the economic growth. Similar developments would happen in U.S. plantations as the development of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and the increase in demand would lead to the further commodifying of slaves and harsher treatment. As industry continued to grow it would increase the economy and further modernize society, while at the same time benefit those individuals who controlled the corporations behind the industrial growth. I agree with my colleague Viktoriya Shalunova, in that the increase of slave labor brought along a backlash on the morality of slavery, leaving slave owners on the defensive…slave owners would used the bible to justify slavery, while at the same time abolitionists would use the bible to condemn it. The ideas of the civil war were developing along with the growth of the Industrialization Revolution.

Chapter 13: Industrialization

November 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Chapter Thirteen of The Atlantic World focuses on industrialization. During this time, many aspects of the world flourished. Nothing happened over night, but “the transformation of the mercantile capital into industrial capital” and “the transportation of hundreds of thousands of impoverished men and women from the British Isles to the United States” changed the world in such a great way that industrialization “[shrank] the Atlantic.. in the mid-nineteenth century” (427).
Industrialization began with textiles. Weaving was a domestic role done by farmers’ wives. They were paid by the piece and marketed by merchants. The demand of cotton affected the Atlantic world. Cotton was not grown in English latitudes; therefore, there was a shift from cottage work to water-powered mills. The British ships brought millions of pounds of cotton from various parts of the world such as the United States and the Caribbean. Britain’s massive demand for cotton enabled the United States to “sustain a non capitalist, slave based society” (429). In 1793, the cotton gin was created and allowed for the United States to keep up with the demand of cotton like in India with new modern technology. Now the idea of a commodity changing the landscape of the world is not new. Sugar demand changed the world. In Tyler Mendoza’s post, it discusses this idea. Mitz’s work discusses the rise of sugar and its meaning to different classes. Aristocrats thought it enhanced their status whereas those who had less money saw it as survival, giving them calories. Also, sugar fed into the slave trade like cotton did.
Technology also affected migration. New technologies allowed those mostly in Britain to travel quicker and faster among the Atlantic. Due to various groups of people travelling, it meant that those places created laws in order to approve or deny entry or citizenship.

Industrialization

November 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Industrialization in the Atlantic changed the entire course of the region. The rise of industry and capitalism in the area changed the lives of people of all levels of the economic ladder on both sides of the Atlantic. Two concepts that I found to be the most interesting where: industry helped to shrink the Atlantic and that the Industrial Revolution had a large effect on gender roles.

The Atlantic up until this point had felt like several distant areas with minimal contact. It seemed as though the path from Europe to the Americas was a one way street in a lot of ways. The rise of machine in Europe made Europe demand new levels of raw resources that had yet to be seen. Over the course of 40 years the demand for raw cotton went from 2.5 million pounds to 22 million pounds (Egerton et al, 429). The new demand for cotton in Europe made the flow of traffic reverse course and saw a huge influx of American goods enter the European market. The created an interconnected Atlantic not yet seen on a scale like this. Danny shares a perspective that the Europeans created their captialist society and exported it to the Americas, and I think that shows just how these actions shrunk the Atlantic. The Atlantic had become such an interconnected space that these ideas were able to be shared across the ocean with relative ease.

We have spent a majority of the last 2 weeks discussing the way gender roles were changed in the early modern Atlantic world. The Industrial Revolution was not particularly kind to the women of the time period. The authors explain how women would help the household by spinning cotton. This was work that could be done from within the home to bring in some extra money in a time period where people in Europe were struggling. Once the industrialization took place, it took this work out of the home. It did not remove the woman from the economy, because they could work in the factories, but it did make women unable to contribute to the household financially while still being home with in their domestic roles.

The Atlantic World: Chapter 13

November 14, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Once Great Britain began to plant its roots of capitalism within its own native land and overseas, they sought to acquire exchanges in resources owned by capitalist marketing entities stationed at Britain. Being able to build and manufacture material structures, and to benefit labor morale no less, also meant to be able to fluctuate a trend in human life expectancy. This was as early as the late 1700s when charter companies in Britain were viewing the prowess of manual labor, aside from the Atlantic slavery bias, as congesting to curious efforts put into technological innovations. This in turn made Britain begin to uproot its initial marketing profits in New England with the flow and exchange of textile mills.

Transatlantic technology is described to us by Egerton, et al., as prospecting U.S. citizens ready to witness European socioeconomics impact their culture and their ways of making a living once more. However, many of these people of the Atlantic were farmers who held on to neoclassical notions of farming, labor, and trade. In this case, just as it is described on page 432, they were not driven by quantities of the product but by the quality of how to farm it. In turn, the conclusion drawn to justify the bond between [white] master and [black] slave is used to stir up early anti-capitalist sentiment, when slavery itself was believed to have been the actual backbone of capitalism for millennia. To me, like my colleague Tyler Mendoza explained, this helps to emphasize why slavery did not fall just yet in the wake of industrialization.

Atlantic History – Fall 2016

Author: Dr. Shrout

Post-Civil War changes in Cotton Production

Cotton is King

Seeds of Change: Cotton and the Civil War

the evolution of cotton production due to the American Civil War

Progress in the Cotton Empire

Primary Sources

Industrialism and Global Connections: the Good and the Bad

Chapter 13: Industrialization

Industrialization

The Atlantic World: Chapter 13