Two short points for you non-Africanists. First of all, the "Triangular Trade" is a misnomer. There was, in fact, much more bilateral trade between the Americas (including the Caribbean) and Africa than the term implies. This was especially the case in terms of rum and tobacco. One need only think of the New England rum traders, the Caribbean rum traders, and the Brazilian rum-tobacco traders involvement in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Second, to say that the Caribbean islands are the geographic center of the triangular trade in sugar, rum, and slaves is historically wrong. Although important, the American-Caribbean rum trade was primarily concentrated in West Africa. And here, the exchange of American, Caribbean (and even Brazilian) rum for slaves was not that significant. Far more important was the Brazilian rum trade in West Central Africa, where this booze alone acquired 25% of slaves exported therefrom between 1710 and 1830! And West Central African slave exports account for some 40% of all slaves shipped across the Atlantic, about 40% of which landed in Brazil!! Jose C. Curto Co-editor, Newsletter of CAAS Center for Society, Technology and Development McGill University 2020 University, suite 2400 Montreal, Qc. CANADA H3A 2A5 Phone: (514) 398-3070 Fax: (514) 398-4619 Email: [log in to unmask]