The term “triangular trade” is used to characterize much of the Atlantic trading system from the 16th to early 19th centuries, in which three main commodity-types were traded in three key Atlantic geographic regions: labor, crops, and manufactured goods (Figure 1). A classic example would be the trade of sugar (often in its liquid form, molasses) from the Caribbean to Europe or New England, where it was distilled into rum.
The profits from the sale of sugar were used to purchase manufactured goods, which were then shipped to West Africa, where they were bartered for slaves. The slaves were then brought to the Caribbean to be sold to sugar planters. The profits from the sale of the slaves were then used to buy more sugar, which was shipped to Europe, etc.
This particular triangular trip took anywhere from five to 12 weeks, and often esulted in massive fatalities of enslaved Africans on the Middle Passage voyage The term “triangular trade” is used to characterize much of the Atlantic trading system from the 16th to early 19th centuries, in which three main commodity-types were traded in three key Atlantic geographic regions: labor, crops, and manufactured resulted in massive fatalities of enslaved Africans on the Middle Passage voyage ggjhj hun By fghytfl
