The triangular trade

The idea behind the triangular trade was: The ship's cargo room, or hold, was filled with goods at every point of the triangle. Goods from Europe were shipped to Africa and sold in exchange for slaves, ivory and gold. The enslaved Africans who brought a good profit in the West Indies were used as cheap labour on the plantations here. Sugar and other raw materials were transported to Europe where they were processed and then exported.

The second leg of the triangle was the Middle Passage, across the Atlantic Ocean, following the trade winds to the West Indies. The slaves were packed into the ships, frequently very tightly, the aim being to carry as many as possible alive to the Caribbean islands. There the slaves were sold, often at auctions, into lifelong servile labor at the sugar plantations. The slave cargo on board the Fredensborg was intended for St.Croix in the Danish West Indies.

Mortality was often high on the Middle Passage. On the Fredensborg 11 % of a total of 265 slaves taken on board died. Of the original crew of 40 sailors, 37.5 % died during the triangular voyage, most of them during the stay on the African coast.
On the third leg the ships returned to Europe, carrying sugar products, dyewood, cotton and other goods from the West Indies or Americas. For Fredensborg her triangular voyage was nearly completed, when on 1 December 1768, the ship ran aground in a storm on the southern coast of Norway.