Final answer:
The Triangular Trade resulted in significant loss of workers and increased reliance on European products, undermining local African industries and economy. European dominance stifled the development of a continent-wide market for African-produced goods, while also causing social upheaval and the loss of traditional skills and knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
The impact of the Triangular Trade on Africa's economy was predominantly negative, marked most notably by a loss of workers and increased dependence on European products. The slave trade meant that Africa suffered devastating population losses, resulting in a scarcity of labor that could have been critical for its own economic development. European goods also flooded African markets, outcompeting and undermining local industries such as the textile and metal industries. The creation of goods for local markets continued, but due to European dominance, a continent-wide market for African products was stifled before it could flourish. Furthermore, mercantilism, the prevalent economic theory of the time, heavily favored European interests, leading to exploitation and restriction of the economic potential within African societies.
While the trade enriched a select few in African societies, especially local chieftains and merchants, it ravaged broader social and economic structures, disrupting kinship networks and the transmission of skills and traditional knowledge. The transformational impact included the disappearance of smaller states and the rise of new ones driven by the slave trade. These new states often waged war to dominate this trade, adding conflict and instability to the preexisting social and economic turmoil.