1. Triangular Trade Routes:
- The New England Triangular Trade Routes consisted of three legs:
- Leg 1: New England to Africa
- Leg 2: Africa to the Caribbean
- Leg 3: Caribbean back to New England
- New England merchants would sail ships from their ports to Africa loaded with goods like rum, guns, textiles, and metal products.
- In Africa, these goods were traded for enslaved people who were forcibly taken from their homes and communities.
2. Middle Passage:
- The Middle Passage refers to the second leg of the Triangular Trade Routes, where enslaved people were transported from Africa to the Caribbean.
- The conditions during the Middle Passage were horrific and inhumane. Enslaved people were packed into overcrowded, unsanitary ships with little food, water, or ventilation.
- Many enslaved individuals died during the Middle Passage due to disease, malnutrition, and brutal treatment.
3. Caribbean and New England:
- In the Caribbean, enslaved people were sold to plantation owners and forced to work in harsh conditions on sugar, tobacco, and cotton plantations.
- The profits generated from the sale of enslaved people and plantation goods were then used to purchase tropical products such as sugar, molasses, and coffee.
- New England ships would return to the colonies loaded with these Caribbean goods, completing the triangular trade cycle.
4. Impact on New England:
- The New England Triangular Trade Routes and Middle Passage contributed to the economic prosperity of the New England colonies.
- The profits from the slave trade and plantation goods helped fuel the growth of industries like shipbuilding, rum distilleries, and sugar refineries in New England.
- However, this economic success was built on the exploitation and suffering of enslaved Africans, which stands as a morally reprehensible chapter in American history.