To begin in the book it is told to the reader that the Byrd family “raised tobacco, which was then exchanged for african slaves and english manufactured goods”(American Realities p.31) .It is also said that the Byrd plantation was also a hub of import and export for trade with other small planters and secluded indian tribes. Large pack trains would form near the Byrd plantation to prep for the journey along the trading path that was four hundred miles into the into the interior land of the catawbas and the cherokees. In these far off regions the exchanged goods such as cloth, blankets, beads, pots, pans ,hatchets, guns, lead, and rum from the hides of various animals from bear, deer,beaver, otter, mink,and buffalo. By getting involved with this trade the Byrd Plantation was …show more content…
They made their living of off the cultivation of tobacco and The Byrd plantation depended on the labor of hundreds of enslaved Africans, as tobacco was a labor-intensive crop. The goods that would be exported from america depended on the slaves that would come from africa, which in turn made this one of the most important parts of the triangular trade the Byrd plantation weren't the only people to do this. This system of trade basically involving the import of slaves and export of goods was a system used by many plantations throughout the colonies and it is the main reason for their prosperity today. This started the rise of big southern plantation lifestyle, not only were they plantation owners they are also middleman in the whole atlantic trade system. They did not just grow important crops they are involved in all hands of trade slaves, crops, building business, etc They were a systematic example of how the great economic expansion of the British Empire affected the colonies trading system and ways to become prosperous in america. The british became very rich taking advantage of this