Ships designed to carry human cargo from Africa would be converted to hold raw materials such as rum, tobacco, molasses and sugar , collected from the West Indies. To complete the cycle known as the ‘triangular trade', these raw materials were then brought back to England to be turned into manufactured goods.
What did the West Indies trade in the triangular trade?
Triangular Trade – The Trade Routes
The West Indies supplied slaves, sugar, molasses and fruits to the American colonies .
What was traded from the West Indies?
They collected “country produce” from outlying farmers at their stores in exchange for imported goods: English cloth, iron, glass, and crockery ; East Indian silk, tea, and spices; and West Indian sugar, molasses, rum, salt, fruit, and coffee.
What was traded from the West Indies to Britain?
By the 1770s, West Indian planters were exporting nearly 100,000 tons of sugar and 2 million gallons of rum to Britain and the North American colonies, the combined value of which reached almost £4 million. ... The rest were traded to the mainland colonies in exchange for lumber, grain, flour, and salt fish .
What goods were transferred in the triangular trade?
On the first leg of their three-part journey, often called the Triangular Trade, European ships brought manufactured goods, weapons, even liquor to Africa in exchange for slaves; on the second, they transported African men, women, and children to the Americas to serve as slaves; and on the third leg, they exported to ...
What were the 3 points of the triangular trade?
The three points of the triangular trade were Europe, Africa, and the Americas .
What are the three parts of triangular trade?
transatlantic slave trade
three stages of the so-called triangular trade, in which arms, textiles, and wine were shipped from Europe to Africa , slaves from Africa to the Americas, and sugar and coffee from the Americas to Europe.
What was the West Indies most important export?
Sugar, bananas, citrus, cocoa, and spices are the principal exports and the major source of foreign exchange for a number of countries.
Who started the triangular trade?
The ‘Triangular Trade' was the sailing route taken by British slave traders . It was a journey of three stages. A British ship carrying trade goods set sail from Britain, bound for West Africa. At first some slaves were captured directly by the British traders.
Why is the triangular trade called that?
The system that emerged became known as the triangular trade because it had three stages that roughly form the shape of a triangle when viewed on a map . The first stage began in Europe, where manufactured goods were loaded onto ships bound for ports on the African coast.
Why did England come to the West Indies?
The Europeans came to the Caribbean in search of wealth . ... After unsuccessful experiments with growing tobacco, the English colonists tried growing sugarcane in the Caribbean. This was not a local plant, but it grew well after its introduction. Sugarcane could be used to make various products.
Why were the West Indies important to England?
A major feature of European settlement in the West Indies was its transitory nature . ... It was the West India Interest that engineered the Molasses and Sugar acts in the first half of the 18th century. These acts protected British West Indian sugar in the British market and increased the prosperity of the planters.
What race is West Indian?
The vast majority of non-Hispanic West Indian Americans are of African Afro-Caribbean descent , with the remaining portion mainly multi-racial and Indo-Caribbean people, especially in the Guyanese, Trinidadian and Surinamese communities, where people of Indo-Caribbean descent make up a significant portion of the ...
Why did the triangular trade end?
The economic dislocations occasioned by the American Revolution disrupted participation in the Atlantic slave trade . In an 1807 statute, Great Britain outlawed the slave trade altogether, and the United States followed suit in 1808. The British navy began to suppress the trade on the high seas.
What was the starting point of the triangular trade route?
The starting point of the triangular route was Europe . Europe sent European products, such as textiles, rum and manufacured goods, to Africa. The second point was Africa. Africa sent slaves to America, many of whom toiled in the Slave Plantations.
How did the triangular trade benefit European?
The Triangular trade allowed the Europeans to both Strengthen their American colonies, and benefit in wealth as the America's became more wealthy , and they sold things to Africa, got slaves sent to america, etc. ... It increased the wealth of the European nations, though there were still many poor people.
