Which leg of the triangular trade made money for European traders and ship owners

The trip from Europe to Africa

The trip from Africa to the Americas

The trip from the Americas to Europe

All legs of the trip were profitable

All legs of the trip were profitable for European traders and ship owners.

Explanation:

Triangular trade is the name by which the mercantile process of acquisition and sale of slaves by the European powers is described, in exchange for raw materials produced in the American continent.

In the first phase of this trade, ships left Europe for Africa, where they acquired slaves at a very low value, even exchanging them for trinkets. From there, the ships left for the American continent, where they sold the slaves in their own colonies, and acquired raw materials and agricultural and livestock products, which would be transported to Europe in a third phase of the journey.

As can be seen, in all three phases European ships obtained an economic return: first, obtaining slaves at a very low price; then, selling them at a higher price and exchanging them for raw materials; and lastly, moving these raw materials to Europe to convert them into finished products. In other words, in the three phases of this process, the European nations obtained comparative advantages compared to the African nations and the American colonies.