Title: What was the triangular trade? | Yahoo Answers
Headings: What was the triangular trade?
What was the triangular trade?
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Anonymous
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Content: Sugar became an important commodity to meet the growing demands of Europeans drinking tea, coffee, and cocoa. Thus sugar was the earliest foundation upon which capitalism began to develop. South American and Caribbean sugar was also distilled into rum in New England, which was then traded in Africa for slaves owned by other Africans, and finally West African slaves were traded for sugar in South America. This forms a triangle on the map, hence the term "Triangular Trade." New England slave ships took vats of the rum from their distilleries to Africa and bought African slaves from African owners/dealers with the rum. Other goods, including guns were also sold to the African dealers, which facilitated their obtaining more slaves. The bulk of the human cargo was sold in South America in trade for cane sugar and the cycle continued. At each stop along the way, an excellent profit was made. New England dominated the slave-trade when still colonies, but when Great Britain outlawed the trade in 1807, English ships stopped participating altogether. At the same time, North American slavery expanded greatly so that slaves became a majority of the population in the South.