Effects Of The Triangular Trade

Triangular Trade During the 17th and 18th centuries in America, a new era began as raw resources were harvested and shipped to Europe for purchase. As more and more goods were harvested from America, plantation owners required laborers to gather and prepare the raw materials to ship to Europe. One of the ways they found laborers was through the transatlantic slave trade. This trade remains one of the largest forced migrations in the world “The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in human history and completely changed Africa, the Americas and Europe” (London and the transatlantic slave trade, 2015: p1) as it left many long lasting effects in all three countries. This migration is known as the triangular trade, due to the shipping routes vessels would take between countries. The following examines the concept of the triangular trade, the effects on the minority groups, and how it produced a long lasting poverty cycle in America. …show more content…
Disease from small pox and other viruses wiped out much of the poor working population in the 17th century, causing a shortage of workers. Americans quickly learned they could outsource their goods to other places and buy slaves for a cheaper rate to come and work in America. America sold raw goods to Europe, who in turn made voyages to Africa supplying the indigenous groups with pots pans and other basic resources in exchange for slaves, creating a cycle known as the Triangular Trade “This was the name given to the trading route used by European merchants who exchanged goods with Africans for slaves, shipped the slaves to the Americas, sold them and brought goods from the Americas back to Europe”(Black Peoples of America - The Triangular Trade, 2014: p1). This brutal cycle would create one of the most violent exploitations of the African