MAP 17.1 European Trade Patterns, c. 1740

By 1740, the European powers had colonized much of North and South America and incorporated their colonies there into a worldwide system of commerce centered on the slave trade and plantation production of staple crops. Europeans still sought spices and luxury goods in China and the East Indies, but few Europeans had settled permanently in these areas (with the exception of Java). How did control over colonies determine dominance in international trade in this period?