Atlantic Trade Network

Definition

The Atlantic Trade Network was an extensive maritime trading system that connected four continents - Europe, Africa, North America, and South America - during roughly 1500-1800 AD.

Analogy

Imagine it like an intricate web spun by a spider connecting different points in your room. Each thread represents different trade routes connecting various continents with diverse commodities being exchanged along them.

Related terms

Transatlantic Slave Trade: A part of this network which involved forced transportation of African people into slavery in Americas and Caribbean islands.

Columbian Exchange: Named after Christopher Columbus, this term refers to widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations including slaves (as part of Transatlantic Slave Trade), diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Mercantilism: An economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by accumulation of profitable balances. It was a major driving force behind European colonialism which fueled Atlantic Trade Network.