What was the triangular trade?

Answer 1

A "triangular trade" is a historical term referring to the 18th-century trade between South America, New England, and the west coast of Africa. The commodities involved were several, but principally they were sugar, rum, and slaves. The trade brought much wealth to North America and the profits ultimately became the foundation of American capitalism.

Sugar became an important commodity to meet the growing demands of Europeans drinking tea, coffee, and cocoa. Thus sugar was the earliest foundation upon which capitalism began to develop. South American and Caribbean sugar was also distilled into rum in New England, which was then traded in Africa for slaves owned by other Africans, and finally West African slaves were traded for sugar in South America. This forms a triangle on the map, hence the term "Triangular Trade."

New England slave ships took vats of the rum from their distilleries to Africa and bought African slaves from African owners/dealers with the rum. Other goods, including guns were also sold to the African dealers, which facilitated their obtaining more slaves. The bulk of the human cargo was sold in South America in trade for cane sugar and the cycle continued. At each stop along the way, an excellent profit was made. New England dominated the slave-trade when still colonies, but when Great Britain outlawed the trade in 1807, English ships stopped participating altogether.

At the same time, North American slavery expanded greatly so that slaves became a majority of the population in the South. The cotton gin was invented in 1794. In 1800, cotton cultivation was labor intensive, requiring armies of workers to produce. Although it was active in Brazil until 1893, the slave-trade stopped in the Caribbean. So just when cotton became profitable as a cash crop in North America, slavers were looking for new markets. This Triangular Trade lasted legally from ca 1500 to 1850, when the importation of slaves was banned in the United States. After the slave-trade was outlawed in the United States, it continued illegally up until the eve of the American Civil War in 1861-

Answer 2

Define Triangular Trade

Answer 3

A "triangular trade" is a historical term referring to the 18th-century trade between South America, New England, and the west coast of Africa. See wikipedia link.

Answer 4

There still is the Bermuda Triangle, but the historical reference is European Ships commissioned to pick up slaves from Africa, transport them to the South and Caribbean and making a big profit by returning with cotton, molasses, tobacco, sugar and other cash crops!

Answer 5

Wasn't it slave ships that would sail from the America's with tobacco to England, The to Africa with something else and then Back to the America's with Slaves

Answer 6

Thats questionable there are in fact many potential answers to this question...

Answer 7

Don't think this is correct

Answer 8

SlaVES TO AMERICA, SUGAR TO EUROPE, MANUFACTURED GOODS TO AFRICA