What is the Middle Passage?

• A. The route across the Atlantic from the African coast to the New World.
• B. The voyage from Europe to Asia for enslaved people.
• C. An inland river route within Africa used for slave transport.
• D. A fictional term for a slave market in the Caribbean.

Answer: (A)

The Middle Passage refers to the leg of the Atlantic slave trade in which enslaved Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. It was the middle link in the Triangular Trade that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and ships were often crowded under brutal, deadly conditions for those who endured the voyage. This is not the voyage from Europe to Asia, nor an inland river route within Africa, nor a fictional term for a Caribbean market—the Middle Passage specifically names the transatlantic crossing carrying enslaved people to the New World.