triangular trade

[ trahy-ang-gyuh-ler treyd ]

noun

1. a pattern of colonial commerce connecting three regions and crossing the Atlantic Ocean, specifically the transporting of enslaved Africans to the Americas, cotton and other raw materials from the Americas to Europe, and textiles and other manufactured goods from Europe to West Africa, or a similar repeating trade pattern transporting enslaved Africans to the West Indies and sugar or molasses from the West Indies to New England to be manufactured into rum, with liquor subsequently shipped and sold in West Africa.

Word History and Origins

Origin of triangular trade¹

First recorded in 1885–90 in the sense of ordinary commercial trade, not involving enslaved Africans; the current sense was first recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The Middle Passage was the portion of the triangular trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas, where kidnapped Africans were taken to the Americas for sale to be enslaved.

From Salon

Landlocked Switzerland was never a colonial power but its banks, traders and municipalities invested heavily and benefited from the transatlantic triangular trade, the report said.

From Reuters

By using the word new, Farmer was playing on the term triangular trade, the trade that had created the French slave colony that eventually became Haiti.

From Literature

The city of Liverpool played a key role in the triangular trade and many of its streets, place names and other features are named after figures with links to trade.

From BBC

Between 1700 and 1820, many of the city's bigwigs were involved in exploiting the Triangular Trade - the movement of goods and slaves between Britain, Africa and the Caribbean - to finance their political, personal and social aspirations.

From BBC