Black Emancipators of the Nineteenth Century
Beryl Bailey and Marcella Flake
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TRIANGULAR TRADE
In the triangular trade route, sugar from the West Indies was sent to New England. The sugar was used to make rum. Rum was sent to Africa and exchanged for slaves. The slaves were then taken to the West Indies to work in the cane fields.
The voyage to the Americas was one of the most dehumanizing experiences that anyone might undergo. Slaves were crowded into the ships, sometimes 700 to a ship. To the slave traders more slaves meant more profits. The slaves were chained together by twos, hands and feet. They were packed like sardines in a can. As a result of these inhumane conditions, slaves were often struck down by disease and epidemics during the voyage to America. Still, despite these conditions some slaves managed to rebel by killing slave traders or by jumping into the waters to drown.
