SLAVERY AS A DETERMINANT OF ECONOMIC GROWTH. THE CASES OF BRITISH AND DUTCH EMPIRES
SLAVERY AS A DETERMINANT OF ECONOMIC GROWTH. THE CASES OF BRITISH AND DUTCH EMPIRES

Summary/Abstract: When someone hears the word slavery, most people think of the past, of a long-gone era that has no bearing on today’s society. However, slavery is a topic that continues to attract academic interest, with historians, sociologists, psychologists, and economics all studying it. The widespread interest in the study of slavery is demonstrated by the repercussions that this past institution has had on the world that we know today. From an economic standpoint, the issue of slavery is intriguing because it may give information on the economic growth of states that were involved in this practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine various perspectives in the academic literature towards the economic impact of transatlantic slavery within the British and Dutch Empires. Moreover, the present article aims to observe how and if the enslavement of Africans influenced the economic expansion of the two state entities. The key findings suggest that the academic literature that studies the importance of slavery on the economic growth of the British and Dutch Empires is highly divided. There could be found two sides, one claiming the fact that slavery had an important role towards the economic growth of both Empires, whereas, the other side supports the idea that slavery’s involvement in the economics development of British and Dutch Empire is overestimated. Despite the fact that the international literature has not yet reached an agreement, this issue continues to spark researchers’ interest. It is necessary to demonstrate, on a moral basis, if an institution that exploited a certain group of people for centuries was a determinant of economic success for the world’s most developed countries.

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