History The Triangular Trade Questions Long
The Royal African Company played a significant role in the Triangular Trade during the 17th and 18th centuries. Established in 1672, the company was granted a monopoly by the British government to trade along the west coast of Africa. Its primary objective was to facilitate the transportation of enslaved Africans to the Americas, particularly the British colonies in North America and the Caribbean.
One of the main functions of the Royal African Company was to establish forts and trading posts along the African coast. These forts served as bases for the company's operations, allowing them to establish relationships with local African leaders and tribes. The company would exchange European goods, such as textiles, firearms, and alcohol, for enslaved Africans captured by African slave traders.
The Royal African Company played a crucial role in organizing and overseeing the transportation of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. They operated a fleet of ships known as "slave ships" or "slave traders," which were specifically designed to transport large numbers of enslaved Africans under inhumane conditions. These ships would sail from Africa to the Americas, carrying enslaved Africans in tightly packed and unsanitary conditions, resulting in high mortality rates during the Middle Passage.
Once the enslaved Africans arrived in the Americas, the Royal African Company would sell them to plantation owners and other buyers. The company played a central role in the distribution and sale of enslaved Africans, ensuring a steady supply of labor for the growing plantation economies in the British colonies.
In addition to its involvement in the slave trade, the Royal African Company also engaged in the export of goods from the Americas back to Europe. This completed the triangular trade route, where European manufactured goods were exchanged for enslaved Africans in Africa, who were then transported to the Americas to work on plantations, and the produce from these plantations, such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton, were sent back to Europe.
Overall, the Royal African Company played a pivotal role in the Triangular Trade by facilitating the transportation of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas, overseeing the sale of these enslaved individuals, and completing the trade cycle by exporting goods from the Americas back to Europe. Its monopoly on the slave trade granted by the British government allowed the company to amass significant wealth and power during this period.