The slave trade had a distinct triangular nature to it. First comes the trade of goods with Africa. Europeans would trade cloth, spirit, tobacco, beads, cowry shells, metal goods, and guns for slaves. Guns held a very important part in this, as guns were used as force to recover more slaves. Next comes the middle passage which was the transportation of slaves to America. This was the most dangerous trip, as the voyage across sea was not a pleasant one. Finally, the third and final stage was the return to Europe with the raw materials produced on slave plantations. (Boddy-Evans) A few of these products include sugar, tobacco, molasses, and …show more content…
The majority of the profits went to the slave ship owners. Some voyages made up to 20-50% of profit. A large sum of money went to the owners who didn’t even leave England. The first profit came to the West African leaders who captured and sold the slaves. Of course, the British slave traders accumulated a generous amount from buying and selling the slaves.
Plantation owners then used the slaves to run their plantations. They didn’t have to pay workers which allowed them to accumulate more money. The money was then used macro economically to help with the industrial revolution and micro economically to buy themselves grand houses back in England. The plantation owners held such a large income that in the United States, 2 out of 3 males who had an income of $100,000 or more lived in the south. “If the North and South are treated as separate nations, the South was the fourth most prosperous nation in the world in 1860.”