In the second half of the eighteenth century, the island of Walcheren was the center of the Dutch Transatlantic slave trade. This dissertation focuses on the impact of this trade on the local... Show moreIn the second half of the eighteenth century, the island of Walcheren was the center of the Dutch Transatlantic slave trade. This dissertation focuses on the impact of this trade on the local economy during the peak years of 1755 to 1780. It contains a discussion of the slave traders and their business practices and traces the commodity chains of various goods exported to West-Africa for the trade in enslaved Africans. It finds that the trade was strongly embedded in local economic structures. Many slave traders – both merchants and investors – were able to circumvent the limited profitability of the slave trade by combining related economic activities. About 5 to 6 percent of the economy of Middelburg was connected to the slave trade during the peak years, while the Flushing economy was even more geared towards this trade in human beings (about 25 percent of all local income connected to this trade). While the slave trade had a positive impact on many tradition industries on the island, most notably gunpowder production, it did not lead to industrial or financial innovations on Walcheren. Show less
