Slve trades and industrial revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Slve trades and industrial revolution - Essay Example A farmer who produced for his family did not require a market but when the extra pig or eggs were taken to the local market to sell in exchange of coin, a market system came into existence. This coin was used to buy cloth for the family. The capital was now better employed because it could produce something. The market started penetrating material life, the peasant started having an income with which to buy goods, and the labor and land became subject to the market process. The capitalist could then hire labor and rent the land in order to reduce costs by operating on a larger scale than just for the family. The organization of capital changed but the people are not capitalists. Everyone is a worker or a small business man producing commodities. Small businesses sell their services or their produce in exchange for some money while the capitalist starts by borrowing money to produce a commodity and sell it for money. This requires input of labor, raw material and other inputs and the intention is profit. This is the social surplus, the new form that the capital took since 1400. The Atlantic slave trade that started as a trickle in 1440s grew gradually through 17th century. By 1780 an average of 80000 African slaves arrived on American shores (MSN, 2006). Slaves were the greatest exports at one point of time. The plantation slavery in the Americas and the Atlantic slave trade became important to the global expansion of capitalism. When technology was introduced in farming labor became surplus in Europe but emerging capitalism financed explorations in Africa, Asia and the western hemisphere. New World Gold led to even more rapid European expansion. As the capitalists started viewing the New World as a potential for agricultural productions, the need for labor expanded. This led to the exploitation of slave labor. The vast majority of slaves transported to America worked on agricultural plantations. The Atlantic slave trade gained