Table of Contents
What product was produced in the West Indies by slaves?
The slave plantations of the West Indies became the largest market for American fish, oats, corn, flour, lumber, peas, beans, hogs, and horses. New Englanders distilled molasses produced by slaves in the French and Dutch West Indies into rum.
What types of goods were being transported from Africa to the West Indies?
Triangular Trade – Goods from Africa Slaves were the most important ‘commodity’ sent from Africa. Other goods were exported from Africa including spices, gold, ivory and feathers – but these items were destined for Europe via other trade routes.
What was traded from North America to West Indies?
Kitts were particularly strong. The success of this trade between mainland North America and the West Indies was based on the introduction of sugar as the islands’ primary crop. Sugar is native to Polynesia and was brought from the Canary Islands to the West Indies by Columbus on his second voyage.
What was molasses used for in the colonies?
Molasses was imported in great quantities by the colonies and particularly by New England where it was used to manufacture rum which was then exported to the rest of the colonies; it was a highly profitable and thriving business.
What was the triangular trade system?
In a system known as the triangular trade, Europeans traded manufactured goods for captured Africans, who were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to become slaves in the Americas. The Europeans, in turn, were supplied with raw materials. The Dutch became the foremost slave traders during parts of the 17th century.
Why was the triangular trade important to the colonial system?
Why is the Triangular Trade so important? The triangular trade model allowed for the swift spread of slavery into the New World. Twelve million Africans were captured in Africa with the intent to enter them into the slave trade. The triangular trade brought new crops and goods to Africa.
What was brought from the West Indies to the colonies?
The enslaved cargo was then brought to the West Indies and sold to sugarcane plantations to harvest the sugar for molasses. Molasses was then brought from the West Indies to the colonies and sold to rum producers.
How is molasses made?
It is a byproduct of the sugar-making process, and it comes from crushed sugar cane or sugar beets. First, manufacturers crush sugar cane or sugar beets to extract the juice. They then boil down the juice to form sugar crystals. Molasses is the thick, brown syrup left over after they remove the crystals from the juice.