the Triangular Trade

The Triangular Trade was a historical trading system between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. European ships sailed to Africa with goods to trade for enslaved Africans. These captives were then transported across the Atlantic to the Americas, where they were sold and forced to work on plantations producing sugar, cotton, and other resources. The goods produced were then shipped back to Europe, completing the triangle. This trade was central to colonial economies but was also responsible for immense human suffering and is now recognized as a tragic chapter in history.