What is the Middle Passage?

What is the Middle Passage?

• A. The transatlantic journey that African slaves made to America
• B. The voyage of Puritans from Europe to New England
• C. The route of tobacco exports to Europe
• D. The journey of indentured servants to Chesapeake

Answer: (A)

The Middle Passage refers to the leg of the Atlantic slave trade in which enslaved Africans were transported across the ocean to the Americas. It’s the middle stretch of the triangular trade, linking European goods sent to Africa with enslaved people sent to the Americas and colonial products returning to Europe. Conditions aboard the ships were brutal and overcrowded, with high loss of life due to disease and maltreatment. Other options describe different movements or trade routes (Puritans to New England, routes for tobacco, or indentured servants to the Chesapeake) and do not capture this specific transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans.

The Middle Passage refers to the leg of the Atlantic slave trade in which enslaved Africans were transported across the ocean to the Americas. It’s the middle stretch of the triangular trade, linking European goods sent to Africa with enslaved people sent to the Americas and colonial products returning to Europe. Conditions aboard the ships were brutal and overcrowded, with high loss of life due to disease and maltreatment. Other options describe different movements or trade routes (Puritans to New England, routes for tobacco, or indentured servants to the Chesapeake) and do not capture this specific transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans.