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Triangle Trade

Definition

The Triangle Trade refers to a historical trading system that took place between Europe, Africa, and the Americas during the 17th and 18th centuries. It involved the exchange of goods, including slaves, across these three regions.

Analogy

Imagine playing a game of pass-the-parcel with three friends. Each friend passes around a box filled with different items before it finally reaches its destination. Similarly, the Triangle Trade involved passing goods and people between Europe, Africa, and the Americas until they reached their final destinations.

Related terms

Slave trade: The transportation and sale of enslaved Africans from Africa to various parts of the Americas.

Middle Passage: The brutal journey across the Atlantic Ocean that African slaves endured during the Triangle Trade.

Rum: A popular alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts that was one of the primary products transported from New England to Africa as part of the Triangle Trade.