The authors of this selection discuss the “Middle Passage” of the three-part transatlantic trade route. They are referring to the
A) common shipping route between the Americas and European ports.
B) export of agricultural products such as sugar from the Americas to home ports in Europe.
C) artificial passage of an essential route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
D) transport of enslaved African people across the Atlantic Ocean to North America.
The correct answer is:
D) transport of enslaved African people across the Atlantic Ocean to North America.
The “Middle Passage” specifically refers to the horrific journey that enslaved Africans were forced to endure as they were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold into slavery in the Americas. This leg of the transatlantic trade route was characterized by extreme overcrowding, disease, and high mortality rates among those aboard the slave ships.