What was a major cultural and economic system that linked Africa and Europe during the early modern period?

The Triangular Trade was a significant cultural and economic system that connected Africa, Europe, and the Americas during the early modern period, particularly from the 16th to the 19th centuries. This system involved the exchange of goods, human labor, and resources across three major geographic points: European countries would trade manufactured goods for enslaved Africans, who were then shipped to the Americas where they were forced to work on plantations. The raw materials produced, such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton, would then be exported back to Europe.

The Triangular Trade had profound implications, including the forced migration of millions of Africans, the establishment of a plantation economy in the Americas, and the accumulation of wealth in European nations. This trade not only shaped economic relationships but also caused significant cultural exchanges and interactions, influencing social structures on all three continents. Thus, it effectively tied the economies of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, making it a cornerstone of early modern global trade.

Feudalism, on the other hand, was an earlier socio-economic system mainly found in medieval Europe and did not encompass the connections between the continents during the early modern period. Mercantilism describes an economic theory that emphasizes government regulation of the economy for augmenting state power but