The triangular trade was a trading system established by Europeans to transport their goods from Europe. They would then trade their goods with people in Africa and then the people, now African American slaves, would be transported to the Americas where they would endure a life of servitude. Millions of Africans were kidnapped from their homeland to help meet the supply and demand of slaves in the Americas and surrounding areas. Yet African Americans took action to help stop this institution and to help save their people from horrible hardships abroad. Although the Triangular Trade helped increase the number of African Americans destined to become slaves in the Americas, it was not without opposition from Africans who tried in vain to prevent their people from becoming part of this institution. The Triangular TradeThe Triangular Trade began in the sixteenth century with Europe looking for a way to distribute its products to other parts of the world, mainly in the colonies. "The main traders were Portuguese, Dutch and English." These countries now had other colonies established in South, Central and North America and needed a way to develop their new lands with economy and they found that slave labor was the way to achieve this. Triangular trade was the solution these countries needed to trade, import and export their goods and slaves. “Britain began large-scale slavery through private trading companies in the 1640s.” Great Britain and its seaports were dominant in the triangular trade and slave trade, until the British Parliament abolished slavery in 1807. Although the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English first began trading slaves in the triangular trade , there were... .middle of paper......and, most of the men were not allowed on deck for fear of overwhelming the crew, and many would develop sores on their bodies from having to stay lying down for the entire trip they would start to get worse and eventually end in death. However, some slaveholders treated their slaves kindly as they wanted to reach the Americas with as many slaves as possible. “In the Guinea cargoes, slaves were well fed, treated kindly, and kept in good sanitary conditions.” However, many slaves developed what was called a "fixed melancholy." This is the time when the slave simply lost the will to live and died and was extremely contagious among human cargoes. Some slaveholders treated their slaves exactly the opposite: lack of food, dirty housing, lack of space and were "terrified of the desire to live", but in any case a slave was treated: death still struck..