In 1562 Sir John Hawkins became the first Englishman to carry a cargo of negro slaves to the new world. His voyage was amazingly profitable, netting such a terrific gain that Queen Elizabeth, who had previously publicly denounced slave trading voyages as "detestable ventures", secretly invested quite heavily in each of Hawkins' subsequent slaving expeditions. In fact, on Hawkins' third slave trading voyage the two largest of his six ships were owned by the Queen. Interestingly, one of these ships, named "The Grace of God", was commanded by Hawkins' twenty-two year old cousin: Francis Drake (shown at right).

Although the voyages of Sir John Hawkins were extremely profitable, an event occurred which caused the fledgling English participation in the transatlantic slave trade to come to a screeching halt in the late 1560's. During one of his voyages Hawkins sailed his ships into the port of Vera Cruz on the Mexican Coast, where he encountered an extremely large and heavily armed Spanish fleet. The Spaniards, still firmly believing that they were entitled to a complete monopoly of the northern transatlantic slave trade, were infuriated to discover that the English were participating as well. They swiftly attacked Hawkins' fleet and badly defeated them. The Spanish proceeded to either enslave or slaughter their English prisoners. Several were burned at the stake as heretics. Of the 400 men who had sailed with Hawkins out of Plymouth earlier in the voyage, Drake and Hawkins himself were part of only a handful to escape the wrath of the Spanish.

This incident discouraged the English from further participation in the transatlantic slave trade for 100 years. However, after the upheaval of the English Civil War came to an end, British interest in the slave trade was resurrected. The English were ready to dedicate themselves once again to this lucrative form of commerce. In 1672 Charles II chartered the Royal African Company, which quickly established mother England as the world's greatest slave trader.

Although mighty London began as the headquarters of the Royal African Company, it was later outpaced by Bristol and Liverpool, which were much closer not only to the water but also to the factories where the majority of England's manufactured goods were produced. In fact, numerous such European cities were completely built for and around the slave trade and thus quickly gained immense wealth and prestige. As one minister stated, "The whole city of Liverpool was built by the blood of the poor Africans."

The Middle Passage became an essential part of European commerce. To learn about its importance for trade, continue to The Bottom of the Triangle: The Economic Role of the Middle Passage".

Take a look at my sources.