What impact did the colonies have in the Triangular Trade?

The colonies were an integral part of the triangular trade. In fact, they were one of the three points of the triangle (the other two being Africa and Europe). From the late 16th to the early 19th century, the colonies in the Americas received millions of enslaved Africans. These slaves were forced to work in the colonies to produce goods and raw materials to eventually be exported to Europe.
While many goods and products were produced in the colonies as a part of the triangular trade, the molasses trade dominated the route. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Caribbean and worked in the grueling and dangerous sugar cane fields and molasses processing centers. The molasses would then usually be shipped to the New England colonies where it was processed into rum. There, the profits from the sale of rum, sugar, and molasses would be used to purchase local goods like furs and lumber for sale in Europe. Without these contributions from the colonies, the whole triangular system of trade would have collapsed.

The American colonies and the British colonies in the Caribbean had a major influence on the Triangular Trade. American and Caribbean sugar plantations made the rum that was needed on shipping voyages and in Europe. In order to solve a labor shortage, slave catchers acquired slaves in Africa to work the sugar plantations. Americans and Europeans living in the Caribbean were also important buyers of finished products from Europe since many of the factories that made these goods were not yet available in America.
Without the colonies, the Triangular Trade loses the need for African labor in the Americas and the sugar production from the colonies. Each leg of the Triangular Trade was equally important. It is also important to note that when the Triangular Trade is mentioned, one should include the British Caribbean as well since this is where most of the sugar in the New World was produced.