Yeamans' Impact to U.S. History

Back when slavery became part of the economy, slave owners and traders used plantations to trade resources using the Atlantic Trade System. During the 16th to the 18th century, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was a triangular trading system between Africa, Europe, and North America where slaves were used to help develop plantations such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco in order to export them as resources through the Atlantic Ocean to other countries for more profit, production and increased labor. Bristol was one of the known countries in the British colonies for their long history of trading during the 14th to the 19th century. It was considered one of the main trading ports between other colonies such as North America and Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade. Sir Robert Yeamans, one of the merchants in Bristol, was a well known merchant who took charge in taking over the expansion of trading during the late 16th century as a sheriff and as a counselor. Scholars say that Sir Robert Yeamans was one who worked with other merchants in secrecy. However, Yeamans made an impact on U.S. history because of trade and his connection to his family. His expansion of trade benefits the increase of trade during the Trans-Atlantic trade during the 18th century.

At the time when Sir Robert Yeamans was around, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade became a necesity for the people in Bristol. In Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century by Kenneth Morgan, he explores how Bristol has progressed in the Atlantic Slave Trade. He states that, “By the mid-eighteenth century, the shipping of sugar from the Carribean to Bristol was largely carried out by vessels trading on fixed direct routes on a regular basis” (Morgan 199). This exemplifies the daily routines that people go through to ship resources such as sugar, slaves, and much more to Bristol in order for them to ship to other colonies. It allows countries to increase production and profit naturally by gaining more labor. In this case, one of Morgan’s purposes was to show what people in the Atlantic Trade System do to increase production using transportation. In this part of the passage, Morgan shows the basis of production of trade during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the 1600s.

Robert Yeamans was exemplified as one of the many merchants who impacted the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade system. In a journal article, “Notes on Some Colonial Governors of South Carolina and Their Families” by Alston Read. She explores the different historical records and events on people in South Carolina. She states that, “Robert Yeamans or Yeomans (d. 1643), royalist, says that he "came of a numerous Bristol family," was a well-known merchant and alderman of Bristol, and in 1641-2 served as sheriff’. He is said in the royalist accounts to have left by his wife, a kinswoman also named Yeamans, eight very young children, and a ninth was born posthumous” (Read 108). Read’s purpose was to show that people in the south were very well known trade merchants at the time. In this case, she is describing Robert Yeamans as one of the best merchants who served under the government Along with his accomplishments, his family was also very well known within Bristol and Barbados.

Yeamans is well known in his family for being part of the trades in Bristol as one of the wealthiest and best merchants among them. In addition to Read’s journal article, she also explored the family history of various people. For example, Read mentions that Sir Robert Yeamans was the second eldest son to John Yeamans who were very well-known merchants who took part in the local affairs in Barbados for trade (Read 108). The purpose of this was to show that there were people who made an impact towards trade and how they significantly expanded it during the 17th century. In this example, Read uses this sentence to show who Yeamans was at the time in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade era and what he did as a trade merchant.

His relationship with his family also makes him well known for their contribution to Bristol. Richard Dunn, author of the journal article, “The English Sugat Islands and The Founding of South Carolina”, writes about the development of sugar in the South and the use of African slaves during the 17th century. He explores how the english settled in the South to create a sugar industry. He states that, “The institution of chattel slavery would have developed in colonial Carolina in any case, but certainly the island immigrants gave it an early boost. I suspect that many of the poor whites who came from the islands also brought a slave or two” (Dunn 153). It seems Dunn’s purpose was to show that during the economy was booming as families started to gain slaves for their plantations. Based on the quote, Morgan is describing the increase of slavery in South Carolina based on John Yeamans’ description of production and how he sees the rise of slave trade as the “Golden Age”. This confirms that John Yeamans had the same intentions to expand trade as his brother Robert Yeamans. After the early 1700s, people in Bristol were trading various resources during the Trans-Atlantic trade.

After Robert Yeamans passed, people in Bristol have expanded their trading system across the Atlantic where many merchants to various countries in order to produce resources and gain more slaves for labor. In addition to his previous claims, Morgan believes that the trade system has begun to rise as the people of Bristol started to participate in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade when during the golden age. He states, “Bristol’s Golden Age in the 18th century coincided with her participation in the Atlantic slave trade…In our own century, the Bristol slave trade has retained its fascination…The slave trade has also become part of local folk wisdom” (Morgan 128). His purpose was to show the rise of slave trade in the British colonies and how they could benefit the cause of the slave trade. In the example, Morgan talks about the importance of the Atlantic Slave Trade and how it has become part of the knowledge that locals use to be part of the golden age during the 18th century.

People in Bristol produced their resources just as any other plantations would. They would use slaves to help produce resources. “The slave trade was also more important than the number of vessel clearances implies because it formed the apex of many other colonial trades with which Bristol was concerned. This was particularly true of the trades in plantation produce such as tobacco, sugar, and rice” (Morgan 131). This is mostly important because it takes into account that slaves were very important resources to trade especially for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. In this case, scholars, like Morgan, can describe the increase of slaves and how their numbers can benefit the production of resources. Overall, slave trade became an important asset to plantations and has become a resource for more labor and a large workforce. However, scholars contradict that Sir Robert Yeamans has been working with other merchants in secrecy.

They say that Yeamans had worked with or against other merchants to get in court and try to prevent any other actions against the governments. This is exemplified in a journal article, “Bristol Past and Present: Civil and modern history” by James Nicholls and John Taylor. Both of them use other scholarly evidence from various sources in order to explore the history and progression of Bristol regarding its rise and decline. He claims that the case of a Presbyterian plot between other merchants of Bristol where they just went up against the ideas of popery. As the case went along both Robert Yeamans and Robert Canne were expelled from the house and sent to prison in custody (Nicholls, Taylor 53). Their purpose behind this passage was to imply that trade has declined as people began to go against the government. The reason why this is important is because it shows that Yeamans had political differences between himself and what the government thinks. Based on this example, scholars can compare between the tones of the merchants and the government which suggests that the government are tolerant towards religious concepts.

Sir Robert Yeamans made an impact on the U.S, it led to him being on the well-known people in Bristol because of his achievement in trade and his family’s similar actions to help benefit trade. After the 17th century, people in Bristol participated in the Atlantic Slave Trade to expand their business towards other countries such as North America, Africa, and other parts of Britain. But scholars say that he secretly made affiliations with other merchants in order to avoid any conflict from the government. Robert Yeamans was one of the wealthiest people in Bristol who used trading to gain more profit and expand trading ports all over Europe, North America, and Africa. His family was well known for their achievements where they considered themselves Baronets. Overall, Sir Robert Yeamans’ impact on the Trans-Atlantic trade and that it has made the system more beneficial for trade merchants, slave owners, and other countries thus making it the rise of slave trade. One thing everyone should be thinking about when you look over on how someone impacted trade, it’s always best to look what happened during the time when trade expanded and how people adapted to it.