What was the triangular trade?

Triangular trade is a phrase that is used by historians to explain the eighteenth century trade pattern that occurred between the Americas, Africa, and England. What was traded were natural resources (such as tobacco, cotton, sugar cane, manufactured goods) and slaves from West Africa.
If you look at a map, the voyages across the Atlantic Ocean create the shape of a triangle. The ships sailed from England to Africa, Africa to the Americas, and the Americas back to England. During this time period, over five million slaves were taken to the Americas as slaves, and many traveled in British ships. The British ships would bring finished goods, such as cloth, guns, gun powder, and liquor to Africa. These goods were then exchanged for the slaves. The slaves would then be brought across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold in North America and the West Indies. This was called the “Middle Passage,” and hundreds of thousands of slaves died from the conditions en route. Upon arrival, the slaves would be sold at auction, and upon return, the ships would carry goods such as sugar, cotton, tobacco and rum to be sold in England. The “triangle trade” describes the pattern of movement that developed as people traded finished goods, slaves, and natural resources.