The historical account of the triangular trade and slavery is replete with numerous records of human rights violations. The trade in humans for labor led to millions of Africans being taken captive and transported to various locations in Europe and the Americas to provide coerced and inexpensive labor. Slaves endured intolerable mistreatment over the course of their journey to the new world. This involved being under confinement and in chains in filthy, caged compartments. Additionally, the slaves endured physical abuse from crew members who whipped them and raped the females. Nonetheless, the suffering of the slaves was often seen as justified because the demand for slaves in European and American plantations was believed to outweigh the misery slaves would endure. A critical reflection of the Triangular Trade examines its basis and the trauma that this left on African slaves.
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The Triangular Trade and Slavery in America and Africa
※ The Triangular Trade
Triangular Trade, known alternatively as the Transatlantic Slave Trade (TST), was initiated in 1441 following a request made by Prince Henry of Portugal for African slaves to provide manual labor on sugar plantations (Caldeira, 2024). The shipment of Africans as slaves into Portugal led to an increase in their population in the country. The Portuguese slave masters made African laborers work on vast sugar plantations to boost sugar production. The Tordesillas Treaty had given Spain and Portugal more power and allowed them to expand their territorial base. Thus, they used the Triangular Trade to acquire slaves, leading to the enslavement of over 12 million African laborers to provide unpaid and forced labor on the Portuguese sugar plantations (Tomich, 2016). The use of cheap labor allowed the Portuguese to profit substantially from their investment.
※ Slavery in America
The need for low-cost labor in America to support the agricultural industry laid the foundation for the demand for African slaves. At the time, the colonists had just discovered cotton and tobacco and intended to produce these cash crops extensively. However, they needed a massive supply of physical labor to accomplish their goals. This meant considering the affordable labor that African slaves could provide. The acquisition of cheap slave labor encouraged slave masters to establish larger plantations to profit immensely from the strategy. However, the expansion of plantations created worse conditions for Africans to be mistreated by their masters.
Explore how racial bias continues to influence the way slavery is studied today in our critical examination of Afro-American research patterns and historical bias.
This suffering emboldened Africans to challenge their masters regarding the cruelty inflicted on them. The slave masters reacted to the development with the establishment of rules requiring slaves to be accompanied by their masters during movements. Additionally, the new codes declared that slaves would be executed for killing their masters. Furthermore, the new codes restricted slaves from clustering in groups near white people (Rasmussen, 2011).
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※ Triangular Trade and Slavery in Africa
Africa practiced a more restrained form of slavery than the severity seen in America and Europe. In Europe and America, African slaves provided cheap labor for commercial production, which was not the case in Africa. In Africa, slaves were assigned household chores by their owners. The demand for commercial slave labor motivated some Africans to capture their fellow Africans to sell them to Europeans, who offered luxury items and guns to the slave traders. Captured slaves endured long wait times before they could be transported by ships across the ocean to the New World. While slavery existed in Africa before European intervention, it was often domestic and non-commercial. However, the increased demand for human labor by European empires transformed African societies drastically.
For a deeper look into how European expansion during the Early Modern Period reshaped African economies, cultures, and class structures, read our analysis on the European impact in the Early Modern Period.
※ The Hardships and Suffering of Slavery
The Africans endured mistreatment throughout their journey and even after their arrival at their destination. Inside the vessel that carried them across the ocean, the Africans were restrained by chains and squeezed in small cubicles that made it difficult for them to breathe. Also, the crew members violated the African women during the trip. The crew members physically abused slaves for failing to obey instructions.
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Summary
In summary, the enslavement of Africans as slaves in America and Europe perpetuated egregious crimes against them. Slavery involved the alienation of Africans from their homes to offer forced labor in the New World on European and American plantations. Africans endured suffering and severe exploitation while providing manual labor on the plantations. Sometimes, the slaves would successfully revolt and kill their owners. However, slaves were subdued with death and harsh punishments.
References
Caldeira, A. (2024). Portuguese slave trade. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.903
Rasmussen, D. (2011). American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt. United States: HarperCollins.
Tomich, D.W. (2016). Slavery in the Circuit of Sugar, Second Edition: Martinique and the World-Economy, 1830-1848. Albany: State University of New York Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.100022.
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