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Economics of History Activity

Life in the American Colonies Lesson 1 Colonial Economy

netw rks

The Triangular Trade and Mercantilism

Background Information
The term triangular trade describes a trading arrangement with three routes. Ships travel and carry goods from point A to point B, from point B to point C, and from point C back to Point A to start all over again. The route is in the shape of a triangle. Each region in the triangular trade wants to buy certain goods from one of the trading partners. In turn, each region has its own goods to sell. An example of this is the triangular trade that linked Great Britain, West Africa, and the colonies in America. In colonial America, the slave trade was a component of the triangular trade. However, the trading process began in Great Britain. Great Britain had manufactured goods that West Africa wanted to buy. In turn, West Africa could supply cheap labor (enslaved people) needed by colonists in America. With this labor, the colonists could supply Britain with the raw materials it wanted, such as wheat, tobacco, rice, and indigo. The first leg of this particular trade route began in an English port. Ships were loaded with export goods to take to a West African port. These goods were traded for West Africas exportenslaved Africans. During the second leg, or Middle Passage, these enslaved Africans were taken by ship to slave markets in the colonies. Then, emptied ships were loaded with exports from the colonies and began the third leg of the journey, back to England. The triangular trade was linked to the economic theory of mercantilism. This was the idea that a country builds wealth by exporting more goods than it imports. With this wealth comes power. Colonies like those in America were important to this wealth-building process. Colonies supplied their parent nation with raw materials that were used to produce finished goods. These finished goods could then be exported back to the colonies or to other markets. In the American colonies, obtaining raw materials for export to England required a large labor force. Without large numbers of enslaved people, the colonists could not have produced enough raw materials to ship to their parent nation. The economics of mercantilism would have broken down. Therefore, to provide the necessary labor, Great Britain set up the triangular trade with West Africa, a foreign market that could supply the slave labor required.

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NAME

DATE

CLASS

Economics of History Activity Cont.

Life in the American Colonies

netw rks

provided.

Directions: Answer the following questions in the space

1. Explaining What three regions were involved in the triangular trade discussed in this article?

2. Identifying Of the three regions, which was a. the parent nation? b. the parent nations colony? c. a foreign market?

3. Describing Why did the colonies need enslaved Africans?

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

piece of paper.

Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate

4. Analyzing How did slavery support mercantilism in Great Britain? 5. Making Inferences Without the support of the African slave trade, how well would Great Britains economic policy have worked? Explain your response.