In 1746 British economist Postlethwaite (1707-1767) wrote, “If we have no Negroes, we can have no sugar, tobacco, rum etc….Public revenue…will be wiped out. And hundreds of thousands of Britons will lose their jobs”-BBC

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“In 1746, [British] economist Malachi Postlethwaite [1707-1767] wrote, “If we have no Negroes, we can have no sugar, tobacco, rum etc. Consequently the public revenue, arising from the importation of plantation produce, will be wiped out. And hundreds of thousands of Britons making goods for the triangular [slave] trade will lose their jobs and go a begging.” Many agreed with him, believing that the slave-based plantation system was vital to British wealth, industry and jobs.”…

“Britain and the Caribbean,” BBC.co.uk, p. 2

“In the 17th and 18th centuries slaves were moved from Africa to the West Indies to work on sugar plantations. This industry and the slave trade made British ports and merchants involved very wealthy.”…

“The increased availability and popularity of sugar was due to a gradual increase in the standard of living (whereas before only the very rich could afford such luxuries as sugar)….

The need for slaves

Sugar production was labour intensive. The increased demand led Europeans to forcibly transport Africans as slaves.

In 1746, [British] economist Malachi Postlethwaite [1707-1767] wrote, “If we have no Negroes, we can have no sugar, tobacco, rum etc. Consequently the public revenue, arising from the importation of plantation produce, will be wiped out. And hundreds of thousands of Britons making goods for the triangular [slave] trade will lose their jobs and go a begging”.

Many agreed with him, believing that the slave-based plantation system was vital to British wealth, industry and jobs.”…

Above, map of West Indies, Jamaica below Cuba

Above, West Indies highlighted

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Added: British citizens owned 300,000 African slaves in Jamaica in 1831-32.

“In 1672 the Royal Africa Company was formed by [UK King] Charles II and London merchants to provide African slaves for the West Indies.”

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Map: 154 years of UK slave voyages from Africa to Jamaica, 1655-1809. Source: Slave Voyages Database-Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade-Estimates, via JamaicaGreatHouses.com…UK “merchants” needed 10,000 new African slaves every year for Jamaica sugar death camps. The work was so hard that a third of each new shipment of slaves died within 3 years. creating a constant demand for new slaves. “Every slave was expected to work–even women, children and the elderly.…Between 1766 and 1791, the British West Indies produced over a million tons of sugar.” (BBC)

 

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