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The dark side to the flourishing trade
Slaves, sugar and rum were among the most important drivers of the “transatlantic triangular trade”, which linked Europe, West Africa and America from the 16th to the 19th century.
Europe supplied mainly cheap goods such as cloth, weapons and spirits to the coast of Western Africa. There, the traders loaded their ships with human “cargo” – hunted, dragged away and accustomed to tropical temperatures.
The voyage across the Atlantic to the West Indies lasted many weeks; the slaves were held in very cramped conditions. Many did not survive the journey.
The hard working conditions and poor treatment meant that the number of slaves that died always exceeded the number of new born slaves. As a result, “replenishments” were always needed.
Although the Flensburg ships took their cargo, which consisted mostly of building materials, directly to the Caribbean and were not used for the slave trade, all those involved in the sugar and rum trade ultimately profited from the slave trade.
The triangular trade lasted over 300 years. It is estimated that in all 10 to 15 million Africans were enslaved in that period.
Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann, an enterprising merchant from Pommern and treasurer to the Danish crown, perfected the triangular trade. From 1763, he owned the four largest plantations on the islands, and more than 1000 slaves worked on his estates. The triangular trade made him the richest man in Europe. He is also well-known in connection with Ahrensburg near Hamburg. He bought the castle of the same name and laid the foundation stone for the current city.
Influenced by none other than his son, Ernst von Schimmelmann, Denmark became the first European nation to prohibit the slave trade in 1792 – although there was a transitional period of 10 years …
However, it was the last governor general of the Danish West Indies, Peter von Scholten, who finally put an end to slavery. On 3 July 1848, he gave the slaves on the islands their freedom – a daring step, which led to attempts to remove him from office and take away his pension.
More captions:
The plan of the English slave ship “Brookes”
An “S” in a heart – the macabre branding mark for Schimmelmann slaves.
