Also known as: Middle Passage, The Crossing, Traversée, Atlantic Crossing
Last updated: April 23, 2026
The term "middle passage" refers to the middle leg of the triangular trade: European goods to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, and colonial commodities back to Europe. For the enslaved, it was an experience of unimaginable suffering that fundamentally shaped Caribbean slave societies and revolutionary consciousness.
His childhood account of the Middle Passage — terror, astonishment, the stench and noise below deck — is one of the most cited firsthand descriptions in the historical literature.
The Bight of Benin was a major embarkation point for enslaved people on the Middle Passage.
Middle Passage
Middle Passage
West Central Africa was a major origin region for the Middle Passage.
The Middle Passage was the transatlantic leg of the Atlantic slave trade.
The slave ship was the primary vessel of the Middle Passage.
Middle Passage
Middle Passage
Middle Passage
Middle Passage
Middle Passage
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"Middle Passage." Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/concepts/middle-passage. Accessed 2026-05-05.