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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Definition

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the trading system where Africans were captured, transported across the Atlantic Ocean, and sold as slaves in the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Analogy

Think about an unfortunate one-way trip that you didn't sign up for. It's like being taken on a surprise road trip but instead of fun destinations, it ends with hard labor at an unknown location. That's how brutal the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was for millions of Africans.

Related terms

Middle Passage: The stage in the triangular trade route where enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean under horrific conditions.

Colonialism: The policy or practice by which a powerful country directly controls less powerful countries and uses their resources for its benefit. The slave trade was part of colonial policies implemented by European powers.

Plantation System: An agricultural system prevalent in colonies (especially those in America) that relied heavily on slave labor for growing cash crops like tobacco, sugar cane, cotton etc.