Transatlantic Slave Trade
What three regions were linked by the Triangular Trade?
Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
In which centuries did the Mughal Empire rule much of India?
16th to 18th centuries.
What is “colonialism”?
Gaining control over foreign lands to exploit their resources.
What does “consumer economy” mean?
An economy driven by widespread public demand for goods and services.
Plantation
A large estate or farm in the Americas worked by enslaved labour, typically growing one cash crop.
Name one major cash crop produced by enslaved labour.
Sugar (or cotton, tobacco).
Name one architectural achievement of the Mughals.
The Taj Mahal (or Red Fort, Fatehpur Sikri).
Give two reasons the British Empire expanded in the 17th–18th centuries.
Desire for new markets, competition with other European powers, access to raw materials.
How did the rise of the middle class boost demand for overseas goods? How did the rise of the middle class boost demand for overseas goods?
r: More disposable income meant people bought tea, sugar, cotton products, etc.
Chattel Slavery
yA system in which people are treated as personal property to be bought and sold for life.
Describe the conditions enslaved Africans faced when crossing the Middle Passage?
Overcrowded, unsanitary ships with little food or water, disease rampant.
What role did gunpowder weapons play in Mughal expansion?
They gave the Mughals a military edge in conquering rival states.
What was the East India Company’s role in India?
It held a royal charter to trade and gradually took on governmental powers.
Why did consumer demand encourage imperial expansion?
To secure steady supplies of raw materials and new markets for finished goods.
Charter
A legal document granted by a monarch giving a company (e.g. the East India Company) rights to trade or govern.
Why did plantation owners prefer enslaved labour to European indentured servants?
Enslaved people were forced for life, cheaper over time, and could be bought/sold.
Why did the Mughal Empire begin to decline in the 18th century?
Internal rivalries, weak rulers after Aurangzeb, and growing European interference.
Why did the British build “factories” (trading posts) in India?
To collect, process, and ship raw materials like cotton and spices.
Give one example of an overseas good that became a household staple in Britain.
Tea (or sugar, coffee, cotton textiles).
Triangular Trade
The three-legged Atlantic trading system linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas in goods and enslaved people.
How did the slave trade weaken West African societies?
It removed millions of people, disrupted social structures, and fueled inter-tribal wars.
Identify one Mughal emperor and one of his achievements.
kbar (r. 1556–1605): Introduced the Din-i-Ilahi, a policy of religious tolerance and synthesis that helped unite his diverse empire.
Jahangir (r. 1605–1627): Established the Khulʿʿāt system, bringing stability through efficient provincial governance, and became a great patron of Mughal painting.
Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658): Commissioned the Taj Mahal, an architectural masterpiece symbolizing love and Mughal artistic achievement.
Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707): Expanded the empire to its greatest territorial reach, notably into the Deccan region of southern India.
Humayun (r. 1530–1556): After reclaiming his throne, he reintroduced Persian artistic and architectural styles to the subcontinent, laying groundwork for later Mughal aesthetics.
In the debate over whether colonization caused the Industrial Revolution or the Industrial Revolution drove colonization, give one argument for each side.
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Colonization → Industrial Revolution: Access to vast quantities of raw materials (cotton, sugar, timber) and guaranteed markets for British manufactured goods provided the resources and demand needed to power industrial growth.
Industrial Revolution → Colonization: Advances in technology (steamships, railways, firearms) and mass production gave Britain the means to project power globally and control distant territories.
Describe how Britain’s consumer economy and its colonial policies were linked.
British manufacturers needed raw materials from colonies, colonies needed British goods—creating a cycle that drove empire-building.
Consumer Economy
An economic system driven by widespread public demand for goods, encouraging production, trade, and imperial expansion.