Triangular Trade: This was a trading system among three ports or regions – typically Africa, America, and Europe – which involved goods and enslaved people being transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Picture it as a disturbingly grim version of "pass-the-parcel."
Middle Passage: This refers specifically to the leg of Triangular Trade where Africans were forcibly transported from Africa to America as slaves. It’s like the worst road trip you can imagine - cramped conditions, terrible treatment, and absolutely no choice about going.
Columbian Exchange: Named after Christopher Columbus, this was a widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), diseases between American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres following his voyage in 1492. It's like an enormous potluck dinner but with some really harmful dishes (like diseases) thrown into the mix.