The Triangle trade

This triangle shows trade that takes place from the 16th to the 19th century. Cargo is being shipped from England to Africa... ... where other cargo is picked up... ... which in turn is transported to North, South, and Central America... ... where new cargo is picked up to be shipped back to England and Europe.

Doesn't that seem simple? Purely business transactions that every country involved makes a profit from? It's just that one of the goods traded... ... is humans. During the 16th century the European countries are looking for new territories to exploit; to achieve political power over larger regions as well as to make more money.

When states conquer and claim another country like this, it's called establishing a colony: Colonialism. Colonialism in the newly discovered Americas created this new trade. In 1526, the Portuguese make the first journey with African slaves to the colonies in the new world. Other European states see the profit in this enterprise and are quick to follow. The Triangle trade begins.

The first stop in this triangle is a port in England. Here the ships are loaded with cargo to sell and trade... Among other things: alcohol, guns, cloth and this kind of pearl jewellery. They are called slave beads. Because what is going to be bought with these pearls are: slaves.

And this is the second stop in the triangle: Africa. Here in West Africa people are captured to become goods to be shipped to the colonies. Men, women and children are chased and captured by Africans of other tribes and are then sold to the European slave traders. Many of those captured die during the long harsh walk to the slave traders' fort. The captured Africans are kept imprisoned for months, while waiting to be shipped onwards.

Many die while waiting. The ship owners that previously have transported other goods, now rebuild their ships to be able to squeeze in as many slaves as possible, to make the most profit. You can barely stand in the cargo deck but the males slaves are lying or sitting down. They are chained to floor boards. They are naked, barely able to move, and they don't see sunlight for all of the journey.

Women and children are somewhat better kept, but the inhumane and unhygienic conditions on the ship cause the death of at least 15% of the captured Africans. During the 17th and 18th centuries most of the slave transportation leads to Brazil and the West Indies where the slaves end up on big farms where they grow sugarcane or tobacco. From the end of the 18th century most slaves end up in the southern parts of the USA in cotton fields. These large commercial farms are also called plantations. It's the products from the plantations that are shipped back to Europe.

Sugar, cotton, and tobacco. The profits are huge because of this cheap labour. From the end of the 18th century the triangle sometimes varies. The city of Boston in North America becomes one of the stations in the trade, replacing England. So then the triangle looks like this instead.

The triangle trade is conducted between the end of the 16th century and the start of the 19th, and has its most intensive phase in the 18th century. During these centuries about 10 million Africans are forcibly moved to the colonies. Not counting the several millions that have died before and during the transportation. Slavery is nothing new for this period in time, but what is new, is that the slaves are not seen as humans. If the slaves die on the journey it's seen as a loss of property, not life.