An immense historical phenomenon, a defined trade route in the Atlantic Ocean, functional from the 15th to the 20th century, this and more was the triangular trade.
In this post we will give a vision of the past that could be contrasted with the present, allowing us to analyze a fact of great importance and global significance that still has repercussions today.
This event takes its name because of the triangle shape you drew on the map its orientation, route and geographic dimensions; involving three continents.
Would this type of phenomenon and the planning of its transoceanic routes have a decisive influence on the current global economy?
Today we can say that the modern global economy is essentially a consequence largely of the European voyages of discovery made in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The relevance of trade between countries became important even before triangular trade began, located at that time on different continents.
Looking back in history
Since ancient times, almost immemorial, slavery has existed in various forms and types, in one way or another it has always been present in the dynamics of life of the human race, subjugating and oppressing.
Romans, Greeks, Babylonians or Egyptians, used as slaves of multitudes in conquered cities; on repeated occasions individuals who did not pay their debts or basically because they were framed in the category of barbarian peoples; Considered inferior and deserving of such actions towards them according to the philosophy of life and analysis of millions of people.
In the Middle Ages arose the networks of Arab routes that were destined to the transfer of slaves from central Africa, the network of the Nile, that of the great lakes and other regions.
When America is discovered by the West, Indian trade is defined on a colossal scale. Portuguese and Spanish as early as 1493 divided the New World, and a disproportionate focus began to exploit these regions.
In many of these geographical areas, specifically in the Antilles, the populations were decimated as a result of the wars typical of these events, the diseases that had been imported from Europe and, in general, as a result of the abuse and mistreatment to which they were exposed. in a brutal way.
A robust, abundant and cheap labor force was urgently needed, due to the need to exploit the lands of America, its silver and gold mines, at the same time of all the promising scenario that can be perceived in different economic aspects.
Recommendations already existed for the acquisition of African slaves, whose energetic nature was well known, and would provide guarantees of responding to the extreme and forced labor that was planned and recognized to be carried out.
During the next century, the English also began their gallop, targeting the American colonies, followed by some European nations such as Denmark, France and the Netherlands. In 1685, Colbert normalized slavery and the first Black Code was proclaimed, making slavery largely official as a result.
Then it could be said that the phenomenon of slavery, whose primary influence in this context has had an effect on the Indian community first and later on the African, was changing in nature.
With a dizzying development, the "triangular trade", the slave trade, is developing.
Captured and sold are women, men and children. The important and relevant figure of 25-30 million people is the managed number of human beings who were forcibly removed from their territories, without accessing in this calculation the innumerable deaths on ships and in conflicts in capture processes and related wars, which would add up . greater number of human beings affected.
Triangular trade: a three-way journey
Triangular trade began mainly in Western Europe., in countries like France, Holland, England and Portugal, with multiple supplies and manufactures, reaching the west coast of Africa between the Senegal and Congo rivers, where products such as mirrors, cheap fabrics, bells, etc. were exchanged at the time. Once there, black slaves were loaded, supplied by local merchants and elites.
With a close stop on the islands of the Antilles or on the American coast, Slaves and European goods were sold, loading the ships back to Europe with products such as precious metals, cocoa, tobacco and sugar.
This pattern of trade across the Atlantic, which prevailed shortly after discovery and continued until the outbreak of the American Civil War, briefly involved the following aspects.
- Develop the export of slaves from the African continent to the New World. Already on American soil, the enslaved groups were forced to work in fields producing cotton, sugar, and other types of basic products.
- Export to Europe of processed commodities and raw materials. Many of the products were marketed under different business models and also participated in manufacturing processes.
- Part of the production of manufactured products based on the dynamics implemented, was exported to Africa, where they traded with them and the payment of slaves was made.
The route had technical and performance advantages for maritime vessels, given the cellular circulation of winds and ocean currents existing around the Azores anticyclone.
This practical knowledge of navigation could be adapted and exploited, after the discoveries in the field of Geography that occurred at the end of the 15th century.
In this type of trade there was a continuous search for efficiency in the operations and general logistics of the procedure, trend that today continues in commerce throughout the world and in those who determine and develop it.
A single ship was capable of completing the entire circuit from Liverpool carrying spirits, weapons, and textiles; Heading to key points on the West African coast, this being the main stop. The second phase of the route then began, crossing the Atlantic Ocean loaded with slaves towards the Antilles or the American coast.
Once in this destination, the slaves were traded and the ships were again loaded with tobacco, cotton, sugar, etc., returning to the original port.
Although this was simply the philosophy of triangular trade, opting for specialization was a trend once the first trips were made.. It was a trade of such volume and value that it was absolutely rational to build ships that covered each leg of the journey in a specialized way.
In any case, the term "triangular trade" was the ideal to represent the tripartite exchange that was achieved in slaves, manufactures and raw materials; without having to precisely consider the form of transport and its specific characteristics.
A commercial linkage of this level and type has had a significant impact with far-reaching consequences on the differential economic development of the affected areas.. Therefore, the “colonial trade” was exemplified, benefiting the metropolis from the added value of the industrial production that it possessed, leaving the colony subject to the mechanism of the colonial pact, with a captive market function.
Hurting at great levels and plunging the African continent into centuries of economic backwardness and political chaos, slavery was tremendously damaging to this region of the planet. Later, formal colonization followed with the so-called division of Africa in the 19th century, when the slave trade had been abolished on a global scale, without the devastating effects being remedied even after the decolonization of the 20th century.
At the time when triangular trade was developing, as today, there was pressure to lower costs by increasing quality, which led to important determinations and decisions.
The intercontinental links were even longer than those reflected in the graphical representation of the three sides of the triangle. Asia as the fourth continent was included in the expeditions, since the textiles that were exchanged for slaves in the African region came exactly from India, from there they were exported by French and British companies that settled in the area.
It is observed in this conduct or commercial strategy framed within the triangular commerce, similarities with the current commerce..
Currently, internationally successful companies and entrepreneurs in the textile sector turn to Asian countries to determine their productions, obtaining benefits in different areas such as cheap labor, application of less demanding regulations than in their countries of origin, considerable proximity to sources. the raw materials to be used, and not infrequently of a higher quality than those found in other regions.
Today it is feasible to observe a complexity at a global level in the economic sphere, which is a reflection in itself of the type of exchange at large levels and scale that triangular trade has had in its time.
One of the great differences currently existing, related to global trade at that time; it has to do with the flow of information.
Advances in current technological tools, the internet and the flow of data, provide facilities to global trade actors so that they can have and process a level of information that facilitates decision-making and the opportunity to minimize risks. , with astonishing precision.
Putting into perspective and being inspired by what triangular commerce was and its influence on modern commerce, makes us wonder With what transformations will the foundations be laid today for the new commercial exchange models that will take place in the future?
