U.S. cotton futures surged last week after India announced the ban, igniting fears of another jump in prices for cotton goods.

CNN: India lifts ban on cotton exports

Wealthy landowners flocked to the area, building plantations to grow Sea Island cotton, among other goods.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Europeans imported enormous amounts of consumer goods, ranging from cotton products, tea, and ceramics, to lacquerware and seasonings such as pepper and cloves.

ECONOMIST: The once and future boom

Those that survived the journey would be sold to the plantation owners of the Caribbean and South and North America before the ships returned to the UK on the last leg of their journey carrying slave-produced goods such as coffee, tobacco, cotton and sugar cane.

CNN: Timely regrets: Britain's guilt for its slave trade history

Brazil is about to impose tariffs on American goods after the World Trade Organisation ruled America unfairly subsidises cotton.

ECONOMIST: As Barack Obama embraces exports, trade friction looms