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Causes Of The Triangular Slave Trade

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Causes Of The Triangular Slave Trade
The slave trade began with the Portuguese and the Spanish taking African slaves to their American colonies. By the 18th century around 6 million Africans were taken to the Americas as slaves. The slave trade went through a process called the ‘triangular slave trade’. This meant that:
• Slaves were taken from Africa to the Americas. This was called the ‘Middle Passage’.
• Americans then paid for the slaves to the Europeans by giving them rum and sugar.
• Finally, the Europeans gave the Africans other goods, such as guns, in exchange for more slaves.
Since the Americas had so much land that had to be cultivated, the need for slaves began. The crops grown in the new colonies such as sugar cane, tobacco and cotton were labor intensive and there

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