- Europe: European powers, such as Britain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands, played a significant role in the Triangular Trade. They served as the primary source of manufactured goods and firearms, which were traded for enslaved Africans on the West African coast.
- Africa: West African regions, such as Senegambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), the Bight of Benin, and Angola, were the main sources of enslaved people. African rulers, merchants, and middlemen facilitated the capture, sale, and transportation of enslaved Africans to European slave ships.
- The Americas: The Caribbean islands and the Americas, including what are now the United States, Brazil, and the Spanish colonies, served as the primary destinations for enslaved Africans. These regions had a high demand for labor to support cash crop plantations, such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Enslaved Africans were forced to work under brutal conditions on these plantations.
The Triangular Trade operated along these routes:
- Europe to Africa: European ships carrying manufactured goods, firearms, and other trade items sailed from Europe to West African ports. These goods were then traded for enslaved Africans, who were captured and brought to the coast by African middlemen.
- Africa to the Americas: Enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean in horrific conditions on European slave ships. They were packed into overcrowded, unsanitary spaces, enduring diseases, malnutrition, and abuse during the Middle Passage.
- Americas to Europe: The ships that arrived in the Americas with enslaved Africans would then load up on commodities such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco before returning to Europe. These goods were then sold for profit in European markets, completing the triangular trade circuit.
The Triangular Trade was a complex and inhumane system that facilitated the transport and sale of millions of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas. It played a significant role in the development of capitalism, the growth of European economies, and the Atlantic World system.