Atlantic slave trade

Atlantic slave trade

aspect of history

Subclass of	slave trade, triangular trade
Part of	triangular trade
Facet give	slave trade
Significant place	Central Africa, West Africa
Has contributing factor	colonial empire

Reproduction of a handbill wey dey advertise a slave auction insyd Charleston, British Province of South Carolina, insyd 1769

Na de Atlantic slave trade anaa transatlantic slave trade involve de transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people to de Americas. Na European slave ships regularly use de triangular trade route den ein Middle Passage. Na Europeans establish a coastal slave trade insyd de 15th century den trade to de Americas begin insyd de 16th century, wey dey last thru de 19th century. Na de vast majority of those wey be transported insyd de transatlantic slave trade komot Central Africa den West Africa wey na dem be sold by West African slave traders to European slave traders,[3] while na dem capture odas directly by de slave traders insyd coastal raids. Na European slave traders gather den imprison de enslaved at forts for de African coast wey dem bring dem to de Americas. Na sam Portuguese den Europeans participate insyd slave raids. As de National Museums Liverpool dey explain: "Na European traders capture sam Africans insyd raids along de coast, buh dem buy chaw of dem from local African anaa African-European dealers." Na chaw European slave traders generally no participate insyd slave raids secof na life expectancy give Europeans insyd sub-Saharan Africa be less dan one year during de period of de slave trade secof malaria wey na e be endemic insyd de African continent. Na Portuguese coastal raiders find say na slave raiding be too costly den often ineffective wey dem opt for established commercial relations.

Na de colonial South Atlantic den Caribbean economies be particularly dependent for slave labour top for de production of sugarcane den oda commodities. Na dis be viewed as crucial by those Western European states wich na dem dey vie plus one anoda make dem create overseas empires. Na de Portuguese, insyd de 16th century, be de first make dem transport slaves across de Atlantic. Insyd 1526, na dem plete de first transatlantic slave voyage to Brazil, den oda Europeans soon follow. Na shipowners regard de slaves as cargo make dem be transported to de Americas as quickly den cheaply as possible, for der make dem sell dem make work for coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar, den cotton plantations, gold den silver mines, rice fields, de construction industry, cutting timber for ships, as skilled labour, den as domestic servants. Na dem classify de first enslaved Africans dem send to de English colonies as indentured servants, plus legal standing similar to dat of contract-based workers wey dey cam from Britain den Ireland. By de middle of de 17th century, na slavery harden as a racial caste, plus African slaves den dema future offspring be legally de property of dema owners, as na kiddies wey be born to slave mommies sanso be slaves (partus sequitur ventrem). As property, na dem consider de people merchandise anaa units of labour, wey na dem be sold for markets plus oda goods den services.

Atlantic travel

De Atlantic slave trade business start after people for de "Old World" (that place wey we dey call Afro-Eurasia) and the "New World" (the Americas) start dey do trade. For hundreds of years, de way de sea water dey move (the tidal currents) make am very hard and risky for de ships wey dem get that time to travel on top de ocean. So, because of this thing, de people wey dey live for these different continents no get plenty contact through sea travel, some sef no get contact at all. But for de 15th century inside, Europe people come get new technology for sea travel, like de new ship wey dem invent call caravel. This thing make dem build better ships wey fit stand the sea current, so dem start dey fit cross the Atlantic Ocean. De Portugal people start one school wey dem call Navigator's School, but till today, people still dey argue whether this school dey true true, and even if e dey, dem no really know wetin e be. Between the year 1600 and 1800, like 300,000 sailors wey dey the slave trade business inside come West Africa. As dem dey do so, dem come meet different people for West Africa coast and for the Americas wey dem never see before in their life. One history man, Pierre Chaunu, call the result of this Europe people their sea travel "disenclavement". E mean say, some people wey bin dey their one corner come stop dey lonely, and for most of the other people, the contact wey dem get with other people come plenty pass before.

One history man, John Thornton, talk say, "Plenty technical and geographical things join body make am be like say na Europe people pɛ go fit explore de Atlantic and start trade for there". He talk say de things wey push dem be say, dem dey find new ways to make money through trade wey no dey Europe inside. Plus, dem want make their own trade routes wey de Muslim Ottoman Empire for Middle East no go control. Dem see this Ottoman Empire people as threat to their business, their power, and their Christian religion for Europe. Especially, de Europe traders want trade gold wey dem fit get for West Africa, and dem want find sea route go "de Indies" (India), where dem fit trade fine fine things like spices without say dem go buy am from de Middle East Islamic traders. De Portugal sea-men use caravel ships travel go south for de West African coast, and for 1462, dem go colonize Cape Verde. For de first time wey de Europe people start dey colonize places, even though na de Iberian conquistadors (wey be people from Spain and Portugal side) dey lead de first travels for de Atlantic sea top, people from plenty other Europe countries join body. Sailors from Spain, Portugal, France, England, de Italian states, and Netherlands all dey inside. Because plenty different people dey inside, e make Thornton talk say de first "exploration of de Atlantic" be like "international work true true, even if na de Iberian kings and queens sponsor de money for de big big discoveries wey dem make". But because dem lead, e later make people start dey talk lie lie say "na only de Iberia people lead de exploration". De way de Europe people spread go other countries make de Old and New Worlds come meet, and dis thing born de Columbian Exchange, wey dem name am after de Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus. E start de world silver trade from de 16th go reach de 18th century, and e make de Europe people go involve demself direct for de Chinese porcelain trade. E involve say dem carry goods wey dey one side of de world go de other side. De Europe people carry cattle, horses, and sheep go de New World, and from de New World, de Europe people get tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, and maize. Other things wey come get value for de world trade be de tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton wey dem dey grow for de Americas, plus de gold and silver wey dem carry from de American continent no be only go Europe, but other places for de Old World inside.

European colonization and slavery in West-Central Africa

Elmina Castle for Guinea coast, wey we dey call Ghana now, dem build am for 1482 by Portuguese traders wey be di first European-slave trading post for Sub-Saharan Africa..

Di Atlantic slave trade begin for 1441 when two Portuguese explorers, Nuno Tristão and António Gonçalves, waka go Mauritania for West Africa, kidnap twelve Africans come back give Portugal, present dem as gifts to Prince Henry di Navigator. By 1460, every year, dem dey carry seven hundred to eight hundred Africans enter Portugal. For Portugal, di Africans na dem house servants. From 1460 to 1500, as Portugal and Spain dey build forts for West Africa coast, di removal of Africans increase. By 1500, about 50,000 West Africans don enter Portugal and Spain. Di Africans dey work as house servants, artisans, and farmers. Some also dey work for sugar plantations for di Azores, Madeira, Canary, and Cape Verde islands. Di Europeans dey participate for African enslavement because dem need labor, profit, and religious reasons..As dem dey discover new lands through dem naval explorations, di European colonisers start to migrate and settle for lands wey no be dem own. Off di coast of Africa, under di Kingdom of Castile guidance, European migrants invade and colonise di Canary Islands for di 15th century, turn plenty land to produce wine and sugar. Dem also capture native Canary Islanders, di Guanches, use dem as slaves for di Islands and across di Christian Mediterranean.

Cape Coast Castle no be di place wey Swedish African Company set up for Ghana. Dem build am for 1653 as trading post, but e later spread to other European countries. When di British come colonize, di castle turn dem headquarters for colonial wahala. Throughout di 18th century, di Castle dey serve as big market for di British slave business.

After Portugal and Spain dey chop well for slave trade, more European countries waka follow. For 1530, one English merchant wey dey from Plymouth, William Hawkins, go Guinea Coast come back with small slaves. For 1564, im pikin John Hawkins, waka go Guinea Coast too, and Queen Elizabeth I support im journey. But John later turn pirate, steal 300 Africans from one Spanish slave ship after e try grab Africans for Guinea but plenty of im men die after wahala with the local people.

As historian John Thornton talk, "the real reason for European expansion and navigation improvement be just to catch quick money by raiding and taking trade goods". Using Canary Islands as dem base, Europeans, wey mostly be Portuguese traders, start to move their business down the western coast of Africa, dey raid wey them go capture slaves to sell later for Mediterranean. Although dem dey do well at first, "it no take time before African naval forces sabi say danger don dey show, and Portuguese [raiding] ships start to face strong wahala", lots of their crews die by African sailors wey get better boats to handle west-central African waters and rivers.

Nzinga wey be for Ndongo and Matamba fight Portuguese Empire wey dey wahala for their slave business for beta thirty years war for Angola today.

By 1494, di Portuguese king don enter deal with plenty West African rulers wey go fit make trade dey happen between dem peoples, make di Portuguese fit chop from di commercial economy wey African get... without wahala. "Peaceful trade be di norm for di African coast", although sometimes e go dey gree small wahala wey fit lead to palava. For example, di Portuguese traders try conquer Bissagos Islands for 1535. For 1571, Portugal, wey Kongo dey support, take over di south-west region of Angola to secure dem economic interest wey dey suffer small. Even though Kongo later join force for 1591 to push di Portuguese commot, dem don already secure ground for di continent wey dem dey hold till 20th century. Although dem get small fight between African and European forces sometimes, plenty African states make sure say any trade dey happen on dem own terms, for example, dem dey collect custom duties from foreign ships. For 1525, di Kongolese King Afonso I seize one French boat and di crew wey dey trade illegal for him coast. Afonso even complain to di king of Portugal say Portuguese slave traders dey carry him people run away, wey dey spoil him kingdom population. Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, wey be queen of di Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (1624–1663) and Matamba (1631–1663) for di Angola wey dey today, fight long war against di Portuguese Empire wey dey expand. At first, Nzinga gree make di Portuguese come. She convert to Christianity and change di Ndongo Kingdom to be middleman for slave trade, instead of di place wey dem go take slaves. Dis one even help her get powerful ally against hostile African Kingdoms, but di Portuguese no gree leave her kingdom, dey wan expand di slave trade and set settlements..

Nzinga talk say make dem stop the raids, but the Portuguese still declare war on Ndongo for 1626. Nzinga welcome runaway slaves wey run from Portuguese side and gather military wey dem call kilombo to fight the Portuguese. Within two years, Nzinga army lose and she run go exile. Later, she conquer Matamba Kingdom and join forces with Dutch West India Company and some rival African states. With their help, Nzinga fit take back plenty part of Ndongo from 1641 to 1647. Nzinga no stop to fight the Portuguese until dem sign peace treaty for 1656. Historians dey argue plenty about how these African kingdoms and European traders relate. Guyanese historian Walter Rodney talk say the relationship no balance, as Africans dey forced enter 'colonial' trade with Europeans wey dey better economically, exchanging raw materials and people (like slaves) for goods wey dem make. He argue say this economic trade matter wey start from 16th century make Africa dey underdeveloped for him time. Other historians like Ralph Austen back am too. But John Thornton come challenge this unequal relationship talk for 1998, him argue say 'the Atlantic slave trade no be as important to African economy like dem scholars think' and 'African manufacturing for that time fit handle competition from preindustrial Europe.' Anne Bailey, when she dey comment on Thornton’s talk say Africans and Europeans be equal partners for the Atlantic slave trade, she write:

[T]o see Africans as partners implies equal terms and equal influence on the global and intercontinental processes of the trade. Africans had great influence on the continent itself, but they had no direct influence on the engines behind the trade in the capital firms, the shipping and insurance companies of Europe and America, or the plantation systems in Americas. They did not wield any influence on the building manufacturing centres of the West.

European slavery in Portugal and Spain

By 15th century finish, this slavery matter no be new thing for dat Iberian Peninsula place (wey be Portugal and Spain) for Western Europe. E dey dere since way dem write history come. Dat Roman Empire people, dem don already set dem own slavery system for long time ago.One historian, ein name be Benjamin Isaac, ein talk say some proto-racism dey already for dem Greco-Roman people for olden days. Dem dey hate pipo based on dem skin color or tribe wey no be dem own, dem dey make dem look like animals wey dem go catch for war.

Since Western Roman Empire fall, many many slavery systems continue for inside dem new Islamic and Christian kingdoms for dat place, right into de early modern time wey de Atlantic slave trade start. For 1441 to 1444, some Portuguese traders, dem go catch Africans for de Atlantic coast of Africa, for where we dey call Mauritania today. Dem carry dem pipo go sell as slaves for Europe, and dem build one fort for de slave trade for Bay of Arguin.Map of Spanish Empire (red) and Portuguese Empires (blue) when dem join forces (1581–1640)For Middle Ages time, religion wey be pesin own God wey dem dey serve, no be pesin skin color, wey dey decide who dem fit catch for slave. If you be Christian, you no fit sell Christian as slave. If you be Muslim, you no fit sell Muslim as slave. But if you be like say you no believe dem God or your religion no dey correct, den dem fit catch you. Like how Catholic Christians fit sell Orthodox Christians as slave, and Sunni Muslims fit sell Shia Muslims as slave.

Both Christians and Muslims, dem all agree say dem fit catch pagans (pipo wey no follow dem religion) as slave. Dem pagans come be de best and profitable pipo to catch for slave trade for de Middle Ages: Dem give Spain and Portugal non-Catholic slaves from Eastern Europe, through de Balkan slave trade and de Black Sea slave trade.For 15th century, when Ottoman Empire take over de Balkan slave trade, and de Crimean slave trade come replace de Black Sea slave trade and close am from Europe, Spain and Portugal, dem come find new source for slaves. First, dem go carry slaves from de Canary Islands wey dem conquer, then later from mainland Africa. Dis one, initially, e come from Arab slave traders, through de Trans-Saharan slave trade from Libya. After that, e come straight from de African West coast through Portuguese small small camps, wey later turn to de big Atlantic slave trade. Dis one come blow pass all when dem go establish colonies for Americas for 1492.

Long, long time ago, around de 15th century, Spain make one serious law dem call am limpieza de sangre. Dat one mean say "blood clean" or "pure blood" like dat. E be some kind early racism law. Dis law no make pipo wey get Jewish or Muslim family go stay for the New World (America dem side).Even if you be Jew or Muslim wey you say you don turn Catholic, dis limpieza de sangre law no go guarantee say you go get your rights. Pipo wey be Jew wey turn Catholic dem call dem conversos, and pipo wey be Muslim wey turn Catholic dem call dem moriscos. Some of dem just turn Christian den dey hope say e go make dem get rights under Spain laws.After dem find new lands for across the big ocean (Atlantic), Spain no want say Jews and Muslims go come America because the Spain King dem dey fear say Muslims and pipo wey no be Christian fit go teach Islam and other religions give the Native Americans (the pipo wey dey there already). Dis law too make dem carry Jews and Muslims go be slaves, e no make Jews enter Spain at all, and e stop dem from join army, go university or do other government work.

Even though Jewish conversos den Muslims dey suffer bad bad from dis church and race discrimination, some of dem too dey take part for de slave trade of Africans. For Lisbon (some city for Portugal) around de 1500s and 1600s, Muslims wey Jewish conversos give dem money, dem dey trade Africans across the big desert (Sahara Desert) and dey make Africans slaves. Dem do am before and during de Atlantic slave trade both for Europe and for Africa. For New Spain (America dem side), the Spaniards (pipo from Spain) dem apply that same limpieza de sangre law give Africans and Native Americans. Dem come create some kind race system for pipo, because dem believe say Africans and Native Americans no be pure since dem no be Christian.

Europe pipo dem dey make Muslims and pipo wey dey do other religions turn slaves, just because dem want say dem go become Christian. For 1452, Pope Nicholas V come release one church order dem call am papal bull Dum Diversas. Dat one give de King of Portugal de power to make pipo wey no be Christian turn slaves for life. Dis order include de Muslims wey dey West Africa, and e make de Catholic church say de slave trade dey alright. Den for 1454, Pope Nicholas come release another one dem call am Romanus Pontifex. Dem write am after Dum Diversas, and Romanus Pontifex allow de Europe Catholic nations dem to go take more land wey dem 'discover'. Dem go say dem get right to hold de non-Christian lands, and to make de native, non-Christian 'pagans' for Africa and de 'New World' turn slaves. Dem talk say Dum Diversas and Romanus Pontifex fit don get hand for de way dem create ideas wey support nations dem building big big empires.

For 1493, de Doctrine of Discovery wey Pope Alexander VI release, dem use am say dat be de reason why Spain go take lands from pipo wey no be Christian for de West side of de Azores. De Doctrine of Discovery talk say pipo wey be Christian nations dem for go take de non-Christian lands and rule dem. And de Indigenous pipo (Africans and Native Americans) wey dey live for deir own lands, dem for turn Christian. For 1493, Pope Alexander VI come release one church order dem call am Inter Caetera. Dat one give Spain and Portugal de power to say dem get right to claim and colonize all de non-Christian lands wey dey de Americas, and to make Native Americans and Africans turn slaves. Inter Caetera too, e settle one problem wey dey between Portugal and Spain about those lands. De declaration talk say dem go divide de lands from north to south, 100 leagues (be like some distance measurement) for de West side of de Cape Verde Islands. And e give de Spain King de sole power to travel and trade for de West side of dat line.

For Portugal and Spain, pipo dem bin dey make dem slaves because of deir religion, not because of deir skin color or race like dat; but by de 1400s, Europe pipo come dey use both race and religion to justify say dem for make Africans from de south of Sahara Desert turn slaves. De number of African pipo wey dem make slaves from Senegal come increase for de Iberian Peninsula (dat be Spain and Portugal side) for de 1400s. As de number of Senegalese slaves come grow plenty, Europe pipo come create new names wey dey connect slavery with skin color. De Spanish city of Seville get de most African pipo. And ¨de 'Treaty of Alcáçovas' for 1479 give de traders de right to supply de Spaniards with Africans¨.

For de 1400s too, one big church man dem call am Annius of Viterbo, he be like a Dominican friar. He come talk about de 'curse of Ham' from de Bible story of pipo wey dem make slaves. He use am to try explain de difference between Europe pipo and Africans for his books. Annius, de man wey dey always write about say Christians dem be better pass de 'Saracens' (dat be like Muslims back then), he claim say because of de curse wey dey on de Black pipo, dem go forever dey under Arabs and other Muslims. He write say de fact say plenty Africans dem bin turn slaves even by those Muslims wey dem say deir religion no straight, e be like proof say Black pipo no be good like dat. Through these writings and other ones, Europe writers come make some connection wey nobody bin hear before, between some cursed pipo, Africa, and slavery. Dat one come be de main idea to justify why de transatlantic slave trade go continue. De word 'race' de English pipo start to use am from de 1500s, and e dey refer to family, lineage, or breed. De idea of race continue to grow through de centuries and dem use am as a reason to continue de slave trade and make pipo suffer because of deir skin color.

African slavery

Slavery dey common for plenty places inside Africa for many centuries, long before de Atlantic slave trade even come start.Slavery be very important for de way Africa pipo dey do deir economy, but how much e matter and how dem dey treat de slaves, dat one bin dey different plenty for different different societies.

Millions of Africans wey dem make slaves, dem carry dem go other parts of Africa, or dem export dem go Europe and Asia, long before de Atlantic slave trade and de time Europe pipo come colonize de Americas. De Trans-Saharan slave trade, dat be de one across de big Sahara desert, e bin dey work since de olden days, and e continue like dat until de 1900s. For de year 652, de Rashidun Caliphate wey dey Egypt, dem make one law say de Christian Kingdom of Makuria for dey pay tribute of 400 slaves every year. Dat one be part of de Baqt treaty, and e bin dey for many centuries. Dat trade bin dey supply Africans for slavery inside de Rashidun Caliphate (from 632 to 661), de Umayyad Caliphate (from 661 to 750), de Abbasid Caliphate (from 750 to 1258), and de Mamluk Sultanate (from 1258 to 1517).

De Atlantic slave trade no be de only slave trade wey come from Africa; as Elikia M'bokolo write inside Le Monde diplomatique newspaper, he talk say:

De African continent, pipo just dey take all de human resources from inside, through all de ways dem fit find. From across de Sahara desert, through de Red Sea, from de Indian Ocean ports, den across de Atlantic Ocean. At least one thousand years of slavery for de benefit of de Muslim countries (from de 800s to de 1800s)... Four million slaves dem carry go out through de Red Sea, another four million through de Swahili ports for de Indian Ocean side. Maybe as many as nine million pipo dem carry along de trans-Saharan caravan road, and then between eleven to twenty million (e depend on who write de book) dem carry across de Atlantic Ocean.

Dem dey march slaves, with chains for deir hands and legs, go reach de coasts of Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somali. From there, dem go put dem inside 'dhows' (be like small small boats) and dey carry dem pass across de Indian Ocean go reach de Gulf of Aden.Other ones, dem go carry dem across de Red Sea go Arabia and Aden. If any slave get sick, dem go just throw am inside de water. Or dem go march dem across de big Sahara desert, through de Trans-Saharan slave trade road go reach de Nile. Plenty of dem dey die because of de hot sun or deir feet go swell up along de road.

De number dem dey guess, e no too accurate, so e fit affect how dem compare de different different slave trades. Two rough guesses wey scholars dem give about de number of African slaves dem hold for over one thousand two hundred years inside de Muslim countries, be like 11.5 million and 14 million. Other guesses too dey show say de number be between 12 and 15 million African slaves before de 1900s.

According to John K. Thornton, Europe pipo dem dey always buy slaves wey dem catch dem from de endless wars wey dey between African countries. Some African pipo dem make business out of catching pipo from wars or pipo from deir neighbor tribes, and dem dey sell dem. Dem get record of dis matter for one debate wey happen for de British Parliament for 1806: 'All de old writers dem... all dey agree say wars no be only for making slaves, but Europe pipo dey cause de wars to happen, just because dem want slaves.' Pipo wey dey live around de Niger River, dem go carry dem from these markets go de coast and sell dem for Europe trading places. Dem dey exchange de pipo for guns and other things wey dem manufacture, like cloth or alcohol. De fact say Europe pipo dey want slaves plenty, e give de existing slave trade a new and bigger market. While pipo wey dem make slaves inside deir own part of Africa fit hope to run away, those wey dem ship go far away get small chance to come back to deir homeland.

European colonization and slavery in West-Central Africa

De Atlantic slave trading of Africans, e start for 1441. Two Portugal pipo wey dey explore, dem be Nuno Tristão den António Gonçalves, dem be de ones wey start am. Tristão and Gonçalves dem sail go Mauritania inside West Africa. Dem go there go kidnap twelve Africans and dem come back to Portugal. Dem give de Africans wey dem catch as gifts to Prince Henry de Navigator. By 1460, seven hundred to eight hundred African pipo dem dey take dem every year den dey bring dem inside Portugal. For Portugal, de Africans wey dem take, dem dey use dem as house workers. From 1460 to 1500, de taking of Africans increase as Portugal and Spain dem build forts (be like strong strong buildings) along de coast of West Africa. By 1500, Portugal and Spain dem bin don take about 50,000 West Africans. De Africans dem dey work as house workers, artisans (like skilled pipo wey dey make things with deir hands), and farmers. Other Africans dem take dem go work for de sugar plantations (be like big farms for sugar cane) for de Azores, Madeira, Canary, and Cape Verde islands. Europe pipo dem dey take part for making Africans slaves because dem need pipo to work, dem want money, and dem get deir religious reasons too.

As Europe pipo dem dey discover new new lands through deir sea travels, de colonizers dem no waste time; dem start to move go stay for lands outside deir own continent. For de coast of Africa, Europe pipo dem, under de orders of de Kingdom of Castile, dem go invade and colonize de Canary Islands for de 1400s. There, dem change plenty of de land go for de production of wine and sugar. Alongside dat, dem too catch de native Canary Islanders, de Guanches, to use dem as slaves both for de Islands and across de Christian Mediterranean side.

After Portugal and Spain pipo dem get success for de slave trade, other Europe nations come follow dem. For 1530, one English merchant from Plymouth, de name be William Hawkins, he go visit de Guinea Coast. He come back with small small slaves. For 1564, Hawkin's son, John Hawkins, he sail go de Guinea Coast and Queen Elizabeth I support his journey. Later, John turn to piracy (be like thief for sea). He go steal 300 Africans from one Spanish slave ship after he no get success for Guinea when he dey try to catch Africans. Dis be sake of plenty of ein men die after dem fight with de local Africans.

As de historian John Thornton talk, he say, 'de main reason why Europe pipo dem dey expand and find new ways to sail, be just to get money sharp sharp. Dem go attack and take or buy trade things.' So, dem dey use de Canary Islands as deir naval base (be like army station for sea), Europe pipo dem, especially Portugal traders back then, dem start to carry deir business go down de western coast of Africa. Dem dey go do raids (be like sudden attacks) wey dem go catch slaves to go sell dem for de Mediterranean side later. Even though de thing bin dey work for dem at first, 'e no take long before African navy pipo dem know about de new danger, and de Portugal [raiding] ships dem start to meet strong and good resistance.' De pipo wey dey inside some of deir ships, African sailors kill dem. Dis be because African boats dem be better for traveling for de west-central African coasts and de river systems.

By 1494, de King of Portugal don make agreements with de rulers of some West African countries. Dat one go allow deir pipo dem to trade with each other, and e make de Portugal pipo fit 'enter inside' de 'good good business economy wey don dey for Africa'... without dem needing to fight at all. 'Peaceful trade come be de normal thing all along de African coast,' even though small small times, some bad bad acts come cause violence. For example, Portugal traders dem try to conquer de Bissagos Islands for 1535.

For 1571, Portugal pipo dem, with de help of de Kingdom of Kongo, dem go take control of de south-western side of Angola. Dem do am because dem want to protect deir business wey dey suffer for dat area. Even though Kongo later come join other pipo for 1591 to fight and force de Portugal pipo to comot, Portugal dem don get foothold for de continent. Dat be why dem continue to stay there until de 1900s. Despite all these small small fights wey dey happen between African forces and Europe forces, plenty African countries make sure say any trade wey dem dey do go be on deir own terms. For example, dem dey collect money from foreign ships as custom duties. For 1525, de Kongolese King Afonso I go seize one French ship and de pipo wey dey inside, just because dem dey do illegal trade on his coast. On top of dat, Afonso go complain to de king of Portugal say Portugal slave traders dem dey continue to kidnap his pipo, and dat one dey make de pipo for his kingdom reduce.

Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, de woman wey rule as queen for de Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (from 1624 to 1663) and Matamba (from 1631 to 1663) for where Angola dey now, she fight one long war against de way de Portugal Empire dey try to expand deir power. At first, Nzinga try to settle with de Portugal pipo. She turn Christian and she change de Ndongo Kingdom to be like de pipo wey dey help with de slave trade, instead of de place where dem dey take slaves from. Dis one too give her one strong ally (be like friend) to fight de neighbor African Kingdoms wey no be good to her. But de Portugal pipo dem continue to enter inside her Kingdom to expand de slave trade and build deir own settlements (be like towns).

Nzinga talk say make de raids stop, but de Portugal pipo declare war on Ndongo for 1626. Nzinga allow runaway slaves from de Portugal controlled place to hide for her side. And she organize one army dem call am 'kilombo' to fight against de Portugal pipo. Inside two years, Nzinga's army lose and she go hide for another place (exile). Later, she go conquer de Kingdom of Matamba and come make alliance (be like friendship deal) with de Dutch West India Company and other African countries wey dem bin dey fight before. With deir help, Nzinga fit take back plenty parts of Ndongo between 1641 and 1647. Nzinga continue to fight de Portugal pipo until dem sign one peace treaty for 1656.

Historians dem don argue plenty plenty about how de relationship between these African kingdoms and de Europe traders dem bin be. De Guyanese historian, Walter Rodney (for 1972), he talk say de relationship no be equal at all. He say African pipo dem bin dey forced to do some 'colonial' trade with de Europe pipo wey dem get more money and deir economy be well developed. He talk say dem dey exchange raw materials and human beings (dat be slaves) for manufactured goods (things wey dem don make). He argue say dis economic trade agreement wey start from de 1500s, e be de one wey make Africa no develop for ein time. Other historians too, like Ralph Austen (for 1987), dem support these ideas. But John Thornton (for 1998) no agree with dis idea of unequal relationship. He talk say 'de Atlantic slave trade no be as important to de African economy as these scholars believe' and say 'African manufacturing [for dis time] fit handle competition from Europe wey dem never start big industries yet.' However, Anne Bailey, when she dey comment on Thornton's talk say Africans and Europeans be equal partners for de Atlantic slave trade, she write say:

To see Africans as partners, e mean say dem dey on equal terms and dem get equal power for how de trade dey go for de whole world and between de continents. Africans bin get plenty power for de continent itself, but dem no get direct power over de pipo wey dey control de trade. Dem no control de big big money companies, de shipping and insurance companies for Europe and America, or de big farms dem for de Americas. Dem no get any power over de factories wey dem dey build for de West.

16th, 17th, den 18th centuries

Slave market regions den participation

Major slave trading regions of Africa, 15th–19th centuries

Na Europeans go buy den ship slaves to de Western Hemisphere from markets across West Africa. Na de number of enslaved people dem sell to de New World vary thru out de slave trade. As for de distribution of slaves from regions of activity, na certain areas produce far more enslaved people dan odas. Between 1650 den 1900, na 10.2 million enslaved Africans arrive insyd de Americas from de following regions insyd de following proportions:

• Senegambia (Senegal den the Gambia): 4.8%
• Upper Guinea (Guinea-Bissau, Guinea den Sierra Leone): 4.1%
• Windward Coast (Liberia den Ivory Coast): 1.8%
• Gold Coast (Ghana den east of Ivory Coast): 10.4%
• Bight of Benin (Togo, Benin den Nigeria west of de Niger Delta): 20.2%
• Bight of Biafra (Nigeria east of de Niger Delta, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea den Gabon): 14.6%
• West Central Africa (Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo den Angola): 39.4%
• Southeastern Africa (Mozambique den Madagascar): 4.7%

Although na de slave trade be largely global, na der be considerable intracontinental slave trade insyd wich na dem enslave 8 million people within de African continent. Of those na wey no move out of Africa, na dem force out 8 million of Eastern Africa make dem send dem to Asia.

For de time wey de first Atlantic slave trade bin dey go, most of de pipo wey dey carry slaves bin be Portugal pipo. Dat one make dem be like de only ones wey dey do de business. De 1494 'Treaty of Tordesillas' be very important, because e no allow Spanish ships to enter African ports. So Spain bin get to depend on Portugal ships and deir sailors to carry de slaves across de Atlantic. From 1525, dem start to carry slaves direct from de Portugal colony for Sao Tomé, across de Atlantic, go reach Hispaniola.

Some burial place for Campeche, Mexico, e dey show say dem bring African slaves there not too long after Hernán Cortés finish conquering de Aztec and Mayan pipo for Mexico in 1519. De graveyard, pipo dey use am from around 1550 reach de late 17th century.

For 1562, John Hawkins go catch Africans for where Sierra Leone dey now, and he take 300 pipo go sell for de Caribbean side.For 1564, he come do de same thing again, dis time he use Queen Elizabeth de first her own ship, 'Jesus of Lübeck'. After dat, plenty English pipo deir journeys follow.

Around 1560, de Portugal pipo dem start to do regular slave trade go Brazil. From 1580 reach 1640, Portugal and Spain dem join together for a small time, dem call am de Iberian Union. Most of de Portugal pipo wey dey do contract and get de 'asiento' (be like license for slave trade) between 1580 and 1640, dem all be 'conversos' (dat be pipo wey be Jews but turn Christian). For Portugal merchants, plenty of dem be 'New Christians' or deir grand-pikin dem. De joining of de two countries give dem business opportunities for de slave trade go Spanish America.

Until de middle of de 1600s, Mexico bin be de biggest single market for slaves inside Spanish America. While de Portugal pipo dem bin dey direct involved in trading slaves to Brazil, de Spanish Empire dem bin dey rely on de 'Asiento de Negros' system. Dat one be like dem dey give license to (Catholic) Genoese merchant bankers to trade slaves from Africa go deir colonies inside Spanish America. Cartagena, Veracruz, Buenos Aires, and Hispaniola dem bin dey receive de most slaves wey dey arrive, mainly from Angola. Dis sharing of de slave trade between Spain and Portugal no make de British and de Dutch pipo dem happy, because dem too don invest plenty for de British West Indies and Dutch Brazil wey dey produce sugar. After de Iberian Union scatter, Spain stop Portugal from direct engaging in de slave trade as a carrier. According to de Treaty of Münster, de slave trade open up for de pipo wey dey always be enemies to Spain. So Spain lose plenty of de trade to de Dutch, de French, and de English. For 150 years, Spanish transatlantic traffic bin dey operate at very small levels. For many years, not even one Spanish slave journey start from Africa. Unlike all de other pipo wey dey compete with dem for empire, de Spanish pipo almost never deliver slaves to other countries' territories. But for de British, and before them de Dutch, dem dey sell slaves everywhere inside de Americas.

De second Atlantic system, dat one be de trade of African slaves wey mostly English, French, and Dutch traders and pipo wey get money bin dey do. De main places wey de slaves bin dey go for dis time be de Caribbean islands dem like Curaçao, Jamaica, and Martinique. Dis be as Europe nations dem bin dey build colonies for de New World wey deir money bin dey depend on slaves. For 1672, dem come form de Royal Africa Company. And for 1674, de New West India Company come enter de slave trade deep inside. From 1677, de Compagnie du Sénégal, dem use Gorée to keep de slaves inside. De Spanish pipo dem propose say dem go get de slaves from Cape Verde, wey e dey close to de line wey divide de Spanish and Portugal empire, but dat one go against de WIC-charter (be like deir rules and regulations). De Royal African Company dem bin dey always refuse to deliver slaves to Spanish colonies, even though dem bin dey sell dem to anybody wey go come buy from deir factories for Kingston, Jamaica, and Bridgetown, Barbados. For 1682, Spain allow governors from Havana, Porto Bello, Panama, and Cartagena, Colombia, to go get slaves from Jamaica.

By de 1690s, de English pipo dem bin dey ship de most slaves from West Africa. By de 1700s, Portugal deir Angola side come be one of de main places wey de Atlantic slave trade dey come from again. After de 'War of de Spanish Succession' finish, as part of de agreements for de 'Treaty of Utrecht' (for 1713), dem give de 'Asiento' (dat be de license for slave trade) to de South Sea Company. Even though de 'South Sea Bubble' happen (be like some big money problem), de British pipo dem hold deir position for de 1700s. Dem come be de biggest pipo wey dey ship slaves across de Atlantic. Dem dey estimate say pass half of de whole slave trade happen inside de 1700s. De Portugal, British, and French pipo dem be de main pipo wey dey carry nine out of ten slaves wey dem kidnap from Africa. For dat time, pipo bin dey see slave trading as very important for Europe's sea economy. As one English slave trader talk, he say: 'Ah, dis trade! E get plenty glory and advantage... E be de main thing wey all de trade for dis whole world dey move on.'

Meanwhile, de thing come turn business for private companies dem, so e reduce de international problems. After 1790, de captains dem bin dey usually check slave prices for at least two of de big markets like Kingston, Havana, and Charleston, South Carolina (where de prices bin be de same by den). Dem go do dat before dem decide where to sell de slaves. For de last sixteen years of de transatlantic slave trade, Spain be de only empire wey dey do transatlantic slave trading.

After de British dem pass deir 'Slave Trade Act' for 1807, and de U.S. too ban de African slave trade for de same year, de thing come slow down. But de time after dat still count for 28.5% of all de Atlantic slave trade wey dem do. Between 1810 and 1860, pass 3.5 million slaves dem transport, with 850,000 of dem for de 1820s.

Triangular trade

De first side of de triangle be de way dem dey export goods from Europe to Africa. Plenty African kings and merchants dem take part in de trading of slaves from 1440 reach around 1833. For each person wey dem catch, de African rulers dem go receive different different goods from Europe. These things include guns, bullets, alcohol, Indian cloths wey dem dye with indigo, and other factory-made things. De second leg of de triangle export de African slaves across de Atlantic Ocean go de Americas and de Caribbean Islands. De third and final part of de triangle be de return of goods to Europe from de Americas. De goods dem be de products from de slave farms (plantations), and e include cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses (be like thick sugar syrup) and rum. Sir John Hawkins, de pipo dem see am as de pioneer (de first person to start) de English slave trade. He be de first person to run de triangular trade, and he dey make profit for every stop.

Labour den slavery

De Atlantic slave trade, e happen because of different different reasons. One of de main ones be say pipo to work no dey enough. Dis shortage of pipo to work, e come happen because Europe colonizers dem want to take advantage of de New World land and de things inside to make plenty money. At first, dem dey use de native pipo (dem wey dey de land already) as slave workers until plenty of dem die because of too much work and sicknesses wey come from Europe. For de mid-16th century, de Spanish pipo deir 'New Laws' come stop de enslavement of de native pipo. So, pipo to work come reduce. Other ways to get pipo to work, like 'indentured servitude' (be like pipo wey dey work for some years to pay debt), dem no fit provide enough workers. Plenty crops dem no fit sell for profit, or even grow am for Europe. Carrying crops and goods from de New World go Europe, dey always prove to be more profitable pass making dem for Europe mainland. Plenty plenty pipo to work dey needed to create and keep de big farms (plantations) wey need plenty hard work to grow, harvest, and process de tropical crops wey dem value. So, West Africa (part of am come be known as 'de Slave Coast'), Angola and de kingdoms wey dey close, and later Central Africa, dem come be de source for slaves to meet de demand for pipo to work.

De main reason why workers no dey always enough be say, because plenty cheap land dey available and plenty land owners dey search for pipo to work, de Europe pipo wey dem come free, dem go fit become land owners demselves fast fast. Dat one come make de need for workers increase. So, de English, French, and Portugal pipo dem, dem use African slave labour to meet de shortage of workers.

Thomas Jefferson talk say de reason why dem dey use slave labour be partly because of de climate. And because of dat, pipo wey get slaves just dey get idle time to relax. He talk say: 'For some warm place, no man go work for himself if he fit make another person work for him. Dis one be so true, say from all de pipo wey get slaves, very few of dem you go ever see dem dey work.' For 2015, one economist dem call her Elena Esposito, she argue say de reason why dem make Africans slaves for colonial America be say de American south side be warm and wet enough for malaria to grow well. De sickness dey make de Europe settlers dem weak too much. But for de Africans wey dem make slaves, plenty of dem come from parts of Africa wey get strong strong malaria sickness, so de Africans dem don develop natural power to fight de malaria already. Esposito argue say, dis one make de Africans wey dem make slaves get higher chance to survive malaria for de American south pass de Europe workers. So, e make dem be more profitable source of labour and e encourage dem to use dem plenty.

De historian David Eltis, he talk say dem make Africans slaves because of de cultural beliefs for Europe. De beliefs no allow dem to make pipo from deir own culture slaves, even if dem get pipo wey dem fit make slaves (like pipo from prison, pipo wey dem catch for war, and pipo wey no get place to stay). Eltis talk say old old beliefs bin dey for Europe wey say dem no for make Christians slaves (for dat time, few Europe pipo no be Christian). And de few slaves wey dey Europe dem bin be non-Christians and deir direct grand-pikins (because if a slave turn Christian, e no guarantee say dem go free am). So, by de 15th century, Europe pipo as a whole come be seen as 'insiders' (be like pipo from deir own group wey dem no go make slaves).

Eltis talk say, even though all de places wey dem dey use slaves get deir 'insiders' and 'outsiders', Europe pipo dem carry dis matter go further. Dem make de whole Europe continent be like 'insider'. So, e no fit happen for dem to make any Europe person slave, because dat one go mean say dem dey make one 'insider' slave. But for de other side, dem dey see Africans as 'outsiders', so dat be why dem qualify to be slaves. Even though Europe pipo fit treat some kind of workers, like pipo from prison, with conditions wey be similar to slaves, dem no go see these workers as 'chattel' (be like property or animal). And deir children no go inherit deir low status. So, for de eyes of Europe pipo, dat one no make dem slaves. De status of 'chattel slavery' (be like pipo as property) come dey only for pipo wey no be Europe pipo, like Africans.

For de British pipo, slaves no be different from animals at all, and dem go fit treat dem like things dem dey sell and buy. So, bad bad things like de 'Zong massacre' happen and nobody get justice for de pipo wey suffer.

African participation in the slave trade

African pipo wey dem be partners, including deir rulers, traders, and de rich military pipo dem, dem all play direct part for de slave trade. Dem dey sell slaves wey dem get from wars or through kidnapping to Europe pipo or deir agents. De pipo wey dem sell as slaves, dem usually dey come from different ethnic group (be like different tribe) from de pipo wey catch dem, whether dem be enemies or just neighbors. These slaves wey dem catch, dem dey see dem as 'other' pipo, dem no be part of de ethnic group or 'tribe' wey dey catch them. African kings dem dey only interested in protecting deir own ethnic group, but sometimes dem go sell criminals to comot dem from de place.

Most of de other slaves dem, pipo dey get dem from kidnappings, or through raids (be like sudden attacks) wey dem dey do with guns, all through joint business with de Europe pipo dem. De kingdom of Dahomey bin dey give war captives to de Europe slave traders dem. Dahomey King Agaja, de one wey rule from 1718 reach 1740, he go take control of de main main trade roads for de Atlantic slave trade. He do am by conquering de neighbour kingdoms like Allada for 1724 and Whydah for 1727. Dem see say de slave trade for dat area reduce small after dis conquering, but King Agaja he still build plenty important things for de slave trade and he actively take part inside until he finish ein reign (be like until he no dey rule again)

According to Pernille Ipsen, de woman wey write de book 'Daughters of the Trade: Atlantic Slavers and Interracial Marriage on ´The Gold Coast', she talk say African pipo from de Gold Coast (wey be Ghana now) dem too take part for de slave trade through marriage between different races, or 'cassare' (dis word dem take am from Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese), wey e mean say 'to set up house'. E come from de Portuguese word 'casar', wey e mean 'to marry'. Dis 'cassare' thing, e form political and money connections between Europe and African slave traders. 'Cassare' be some practice wey dey already before Europe pipo come, dem dey use am to bring pipo wey dem see as 'other' from different African tribes inside deir own pipo. Early for de Atlantic slave trade, e be common for de strong strong West African families wey get power to give deir women for marriage to de Europe traders, as alliance (be like friendship for business). Dat one go make deir business strong. De marriages dem, dem even dey do am with African customs, wey Europe pipo no object to am, because dem see how important de connections be.

African awareness of the conditions of slavery in the Americas

E hard to fit put together and just talk generally how African pipo wey dey stay for Africa understand de Atlantic slave trade. But some evidence dey show for some societies say, African big men and slave traders dem know de conditions of de slaves wey dem dey carry go de Americas. According to Robin Law, de royal big men of de kingdom of Dahomey must get 'informed understanding' (be like dem know plenty) about de bad things wey dey happen to de Africans wey dem sell as slaves. Dahomey send deir diplomats (be like pipo wey dey represent deir country) go Brazil and Portugal, and dem come back with information about deir journeys. On top of dat, some few royal big men of Dahomey dem even experience slavery demselves for de Americas before dem come back to de ma homeland. De only clear moral problem wey de kingdom get with slavery be de way dem dey make fellow Dahomeyans slaves. Dat one be offense wey if dem catch you, dem go kill you. But de kingdom no get problem with de whole slavery business itself.

For de Gold Coast, e be common for African rulers wey dey do slave trade to encourage deir children to learn about Europe pipo. Dem dey send dem to sail on Europe ships, go live inside Europe forts (be like strong strong buildings), or travel go Europe or America to go get education. Diplomats (be like pipo wey dey represent deir country) too dey travel go Europe capital cities. De big men dem even rescue deir fellow big men wey pipo trick dem into slavery for de Americas. Dem dey do am by sending demands to de Dutch and de British governments. De governments dem go agree because dem fear say trade go reduce and de hostages dem go get physical harm. One example be de case of William Ansah Sessarakoo, de man wey dem rescue from slavery for Barbados after one slave trader from de same Fante tribe recognize him when he visit. Later, de man himself come be slave trader.

Fenda Lawrence be one slave trader from The Gambia. She live and dey do her trade for Georgia and South Carolina as a free person.

Some pipo for Africa, dem no know de real reason for de 'Atlantic slave trade'. So, dem dey think say de 'Europe' pipo be cannibals, wey mean say dem go cook and chop de pipo dem catch. Dis rumour make de 'African' slaves dem suffer plenty for deir mind.

African opposition to the slave trade

Sometimes trading between Europe pipo den African leaders no be equal. For example, Europe pipo influence Africans to give more slaves by forming army alliances with African societies wey dey fight. Dem do am to cause more fighting so e go provide more war captives to de African rulers to trade as slaves for Europe pipo deir goods. Also, Europe pipo change de place where dem dey collect trade things along de African coast to follow where de army fights dey for West-Central Africa. For areas of Africa where slavery no be common, Europe slave traders work den negotiate with African rulers on deir own terms for trade, den African rulers refuse say dem no go give Europe pipo de ma demands. Africans den Europe pipo make profit from de slave trade. However, African pipo dem, de social, political, den army changes to African societies, dem suffer plenty. For example, Mossi Kingdoms dem resist de Atlantic slave trade and refuse to take part in selling African pipo. However, as time go on, more Europe slave traders enter inside West Africa and dem dey get more influence for African nations. So de Mossi pipo come involve for slave trading for de 1800s inside.

Although plenty African nations take part den make profit from de Atlantic slave trade, plenty African nations too resist am, like de Djola and Balanta pipo dem. Some African nations organize demselves into army resistance movements and fight African slave raiders and Europe slave traders wey dey enter deir villages. For example, de Akan, Etsi, Fetu, Eguafo, Agona, and Asebu pipo dem organize demselves into de Fante coalition and dem fight African and Europe slave raiders. Dem protect demselves from capture and enslavement. Chief Tomba, dem born him for 1700, and his adopted father be one general from de Jalonke-speaking pipo wey fight against de slave trade. Tomba come be ruler of de Baga pipo for where Guinea Bissau dey now for West Africa. He make alliances with nearby African villages against African and Europe slave traders. But his efforts no work: African traders catch Tomba and sell him into slavery.

Donna Beatriz Kimpa Vita for Kongo and Senegalese leader Abd al-Qadir, dem all talk say pipo for resist de way dem dey force Africans go outside. For de 1770s, leader Abdul Kader Khan oppose de Atlantic slave trade through Futa Toro, wey be Senegal now. Abdul Kader Khan and Futa Toro nation resist French slave traders and colonizers wey want to make Africans and Muslims from Futa Toro slaves. Other ways wey African nations resist de Atlantic slave trade be say, dem dey move go different different places for West Africa, like swampy areas and lake regions, just to escape slave raids. For West Africa, Efik slave dealers take part for slave dealing as a way to protect demselves from being made slaves. African resistance movements dem happen for every part of de slave trade. From resisting de marches to de places where dem dey hold slaves, to resisting at de slave coast, and resisting on top of de slave ships.

For example, for inside de slave ship dem call am Clare, de African slaves dem revolt and dem chase de crew from de ship. Dem take control of de ship and free demselves. Dem land near Cape Coast Castle for where Ghana dey now, for 1729. For other slave ships, African slaves dem sink ships, kill de crew, and dem light fire to ships with bombs. Slave traders and white crewmembers dem prepare and stop possible rebellions by loading women, men, and children separately inside de slave ships. Dis be because slave children dem dey use small small wood, tools, and any object dem find and dem pass am to de men to free demselves and fight de crew. According to historical research from de records of slave ship captains, between 1698 and 1807, pipo revolt 353 times on top of slave ships. De majority of de rebellions by de Africans, dem defeat am. Igbo slaves on ships dey kill demselves by jumping overboard as a way to resist being made slaves. As dem dey want comot more suicides, white crewmen put nets around slave ships to catch slaves wey jump overboard. White captains and crewmen dem invest in guns, 'swivel guns' (be like small cannons), and dem order ship crews to watch slaves to prevent or prepare for possible slave revolts.

John Newton, de man wey be captain for slave ships, he write for his personal book how Africans dey revolt on top of ships. And some of dem even successful for taking over de crew. For example, in 1730, de slave ship 'Little George' leave from de 'Guinea Coast' go 'Rhode Island' with ninety-six African slaves inside. Some of de slaves dem manage to comot from deir iron chains. Dem kill three of de watchmen on top of de deck and dem lock de captain and de rest of de crew inside. De Africans receive promise of freedom for some deal dem make with de captain and his crew. Africans take de ship back and sail am go back to Africa deir shore. De captain and de crew no fit re-enslave de Africans.

According to research by one historian dem call her Jane Landers, she talk say more rebellions (be like pipo fighting back) on top of slave ships happen when plenty African women dey inside.

European participation in the slave trade

Europe pipo dem provide de market for slaves. Dem rarely dey travel pass de coast or enter inside Africa, because dem fear sickness and de pipo wey dey de land deir resistance. Dem usually dey stay for fortresses on top of de coasts, where dem dey wait for Africans to give dem slaves wey dem catch from inside de land. Dem dey exchange am for goods. When Europe merchants dem kidnap free Africans into slavery, e often cause serious fight back from Africans. Dem go fit stop trade for some time and even catch or kill Europe pipo. Europe pipo wey want safe and steady trade, dem aim to stop kidnapping incidents. So de British dem pass de 'Acts of Parliament for Regulating the Slave Trade' for 1750, wey e make it illegal to kidnap free Africans by 'fraud, force, or violence'. According to one source from de Lowcountry Digital Library for de 'College of Charleston', dem talk say: 'When Portuguese, and later deir Europe competitors, dem find out say peaceful business alone no dey bring enough African slaves to full de growing demands of de trans-Atlantic slave trade, dem form army alliances with certain African groups against deir enemies. Dis one encourage more big fighting to produce captives for trading.'

For 1778, Thomas Kitchin estimate say Europe pipo dem dey bring around 52,000 slaves to de Caribbean every year. From dis number, de French pipo dem dey bring de most Africans to de French West Indies (13,000 from de yearly estimate). De Atlantic slave trade reach its peak for de last twenty years of de 1700s, during and after de Kongo Civil War. Wars between small small states along de Niger River deir Igbo area, and de banditry (be like thief-man activities) wey follow am, dem too increase for dis time. Another reason why plenty slaves dey available be de big wars wey expanding states dem dey fight, like de kingdom of Dahomey, de Oyo Empire, and de Ashanti Empire.

Slavery in Africa and the New World contrasted

De way dem dey do slavery for Africa and for de New World, e be different different. Generally, slavery for Africa no be like say if your mama or papa be slave then you too go be slave (be like heritable) – de children of slaves dem be free. But for de Americas, children wey slave mothers born, dem dey consider dem say dem born into slavery. Dis one connect to another difference: slavery for West Africa no be only for pipo from different races or different religions, like how e be for Europe colonies. But some places too, like Somalia, e be different. For dere, dem dey take Bantus as slaves for de ethnic Somalis.

De way dem dey treat slaves for Africa, e be different different pass how dem dey treat dem for de Americas. For one side, de kings of Dahomey dem dey always kill slaves plenty plenty, like hundreds or thousands, for dem deir sacrifice rituals. And pipo know say dem dey use slaves as human sacrifice for Cameroon too. For de other side, slaves for other places, dem dey often treat dem like dem be part of de family, 'adopted children'. Dem get important rights, including de right to marry without deir masters deir permission. One Scottish explorer dem call am Mungo Park, he write say:

De slaves for Africa, I think say dem plenty pass de free pipo, be like three slaves for every one free person. Dem no ask for any pay for deir work except food and clothes. And pipo dey treat dem with kindness or dem dey treat dem harsh, depending on whether deir masters get good heart or bad heart... De slaves wey dem dey bring from inside de land, we fit divide dem into two main groups—first, de ones wey be slaves from de day dem born, because deir mothers be slaves. Second, de ones wey dem born free, but later, no matter how, dem come be slaves. De first group of slaves dem be de most plenty by far...

For de Americas, slaves dem no get de right to marry anyhow dem want, and masters dem no generally accept dem as equal pipo for de family. New World slaves dem dey consider dem as deir owners deir property. And slaves wey dem catch for revolt or killing pipo, dem dey execute dem (be like dem dey kill dem).

Slave market regions and participation

Europe pipo dem go dey buy and ship slaves go de Western Hemisphere (be like de Americas side) from markets wey dey all over West Africa. De number of slaves wey dem sell go de New World, e dey change change throughout de slave trade time. As for how dem share de slaves from de places wey dem dey operate, some areas produce far more slaves pass other places. Between 1650 and 1900, 10.2 million African slaves arrive for de Americas from de areas below, with these proportions (be like how dem share de numbers).

• Senegambia (wey be Senegal and The Gambia): 4.8%

• Upper Guinea (wey be Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone): 4.1%

• Windward Coast (wey be Liberia and Ivory Coast): 1.8%

• Gold Coast (wey be Ghana and east of Ivory Coast): 10.4%

• Bight of Benin (wey be Togo, Benin and Nigeria wey dey west of de Niger Delta): 20.2%

• Bight of Biafra (wey be Nigeria wey dey east of de Niger Delta, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon): 14.6%

• West Central Africa (Republic of de Congo, Democratic Republic of de Congo and Angola): 39.4%

• Southeastern Africa (Mozambique and Madagascar): 4.7%

Even though de slave trade largely spread all over de world, plenty plenty slave trade dey also happen inside Africa itself. 8 million pipo dem make slaves inside de African continent. From de pipo wey comot from Africa go outside, 8 million of dem, dem force dem comot from Eastern Africa go send dem to Asia.

African kingdoms of the era

Over 173 city-states den kingdoms dey for de African areas wey de slave trade affect dem, between 1502 and 1853, wey be de time Brazil come be de last country for de Atlantic side to say dem no want slave trade again. From dat 173, no less than 68 of dem, you go fit call dem proper nation-states. Dem get political and army structures wey make dem fit control deir neighbours. Almost every country wey dey now, get some previous kingdom or empire before colonial masters come. Sometimes dem be big African empires wey Europe traders dem go fit exchange goods with them.

Ethnic groups

Na de different ethnic groups dem bring to de Americas closely dey correspond to de regions of heaviest activity insyd de slave trade. Na dem take over 45 distinct ethnic groups to de Americas during de trade. Of de 45, na de ten most prominent, according to slave documentation of de era den modern genealogical studies be listed below.

1. De BaKongo of de Democratic Republic of Congo, de Republic of the Congo den Angola
2. De Mandé of Upper Guinea
3. De Gbe speakers of Togo, Ghana, and Benin (Fon, Ewe, Adja, Mina)
4. De Akan of Ghana den Ivory Coast
5. De Wolof of Senegal den the Gambia
6. De Igbo of southeastern Nigeria
7. De Ambundu of Angola
8. De Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria den Benin
9. De Tikar and Bamileke of Cameroon
10. De Makua of Mozambique

Human toll

De transatlantic slave trade cause plenty, plenty pipo to die, wey nobody even know de real number. Dis happen to African pipo wey dem catch, both for inside Africa and outside for de Americas. Pipo dey estimate de number of pipo wey die, some dey talk say e fit be as small as 2 million, and some dey talk say e fit reach 60 million. 'More than a million pipo dem think say dem die' during de time dem dey carry dem go de New World, according to one BBC report. Plenty more pipo die just after dem reach deir destination. De number of lives wey loss during de process of getting de slaves still be mystery. But de number fit be equal to or even pass de number of pipo wey survive to be made slaves.

De trade cause plenty pipo and cultures to spoil completely. One historian dem call her Ana Lucia Araujo, she talk say de way dem dey make pipo slaves no finish when dem reach de Western Hemisphere shores. De different ways wey de pipo and groups wey de Atlantic slave trade affect, deir paths be different different. Things like where dem land, whether dem fit sell dem for market, de kind of work dem do, whether dem be man or woman, deir age, deir religion, and deir language, all dis affect deir different paths.

Patrick Manning dey estimate say about 12 million slaves enter de Atlantic trade between de 16th and 19th centuries. But about 1.5 million of dem die on top of de ship. About 10.5 million slaves arrive for de Americas. Apart from de slaves wey die for de Middle Passage (be like de journey on de sea), plenty more Africans likely die during de slave raids and wars for Africa, and de way dem dey force dem march to de ports. Manning estimate say 4 million die inside Africa after dem catch them, and plenty more die when dem be small. Manning de man deir estimate cover de 12 million wey dem originally plan for de Atlantic, as well as de 6 million wey dem plan for Arabian slave markets and de 8 million wey dem plan for African markets. From de slaves wey dem ship go de Americas, de biggest share go to Brazil and de Caribbean.

One Canadian scholar dem call am Adam Jones, he talk say de millions of Africans wey die during de Atlantic slave trade be like 'genocide'. He call am 'one of de worst holocausts in human history', and he talk say arguments wey go against dis, like say 'e be for slave owners deir benefit to keep slaves alive, no be to finish dem', he call all dat 'mostly sophistry' (be like sweet talk to deceive). He say: 'De killing and destruction be intentional, no matter what dem go gain by keeping pipo wey survive de Atlantic passage for work. To talk about de intention matter again: If pipo deliberately dey maintain and expand some system, even though dem all know say e dey cause plenty, plenty pipo to die from a specific group, then why dat one no fit be called genocide?

Saidiya Hartman talk say de way slaves dey die no be de main aim, e just happen because pipo want profit and because capitalism (be like de system of making money) come up. She talk say: 'Death no be de aim itself but e just be something wey happen because of business. Dis one make say de millions of lives wey loss, e no dey count for anything. Incidental death happen when pipo dema lives no get any real value, when no humans dey involved, when de pipo dem dey see dem say dem already dead.' Hartman highlight say de Atlantic slave trade create millions of dead bodies. But unlike de concentration camp or de gulag, finishing pipo no be de final goal. E just be something wey follow because dem want to make pipo commodities (be like goods to sell).

Destinations den flags of carriers

Most of de Atlantic slave trade, seven nations carry am out, and dem carry most of de slaves go deir own colonies for de New World. But other significant trading too happen, wey dem show am for de table below. De records no complete, and some of de information no too sure. De last rows show say small numbers of slaves too dem carry go Europe and other parts of Africa. And at least 1.8 million pipo no survive de journey; dem bury dem for sea, with no proper ceremony.

Flag of vessels wey dey carry de slaves

Destination	Portuguese	British	French	Spanish	Dutch	American	Danish	Total
Portuguese Brazil	4,821,127	3,804	9,402	1,033	27,702	1,174	130	4,864,372
British Caribbean	7,919	2,208,296	22,920	5,795	6,996	64,836	1,489	2,318,251
French Caribbean	2,562	90,984	1,003,905	725	12,736	6,242	3,062	1,120,216
Spanish Americas	195,482	103,009	92,944	808,851	24,197	54,901	13,527	1,061,524
Dutch Americas	500	32,446	5,189	0	392,022	9,574	4,998	444,729
North America	382	264,910	8,877	1,851	1,212	110,532	983	388,747
Danish West Indies	0	25,594	7,782	277	5,161	2,799	67,385	108,998
Europe	2,636	3,438	664	0	2,004	119	0	8,861
Africa	69,206	841	13,282	66,391	3,210	2,476	162	155,568
dem no arrive	748,452	526,121	216,439	176,601	79,096	52,673	19,304	1,818,686
Total	5,848,266	3,259,443	1,381,404	1,061,524	554,336	305,326	111,040	12,521,339

De timeline chart wen na de different nations transport chaw of dema slaves.

Source of slaves, by region

Region	Dem embark	Dem disembark	dem no arrive	% dem no arrive
Angola Coast, Loango Coast, den Saint Helena	5,694,570	4,955,430	739,140	12.98%
Bight of Benin	1,999,060	1,724,834	274,226	13.72%
Bight of Biafra	1,594,564	1,317,776	276,788	17.36%
Gold Coast	1,209,322	1,030,917	178,405	14.75%
Senegambia den off-shore Atlantic	755,515	611,017	144,498	19.13%
Southeast Africa den Indian Ocean islands	542,668	436,529	106,139	19.56%
Sierra Leone	388,771	338,783	49,988	12.87%
Windward Coast	336,869	287,366	49,503	14.70%
Total	12,521,339	10,702,652	1,818,687	14.52%

Effects

World population (insyd millions)

Year	1750	1800	1850	1900	1950	1999
World	791	978	1,262	1,650	2,521	5,978
Africa	106	107	111	133	221	767
Asia	502	635	809	947	1,402	3,634
Europe	163	203	276	408	547	729
Latin America and the Caribbean	16	24	38	74	167	511
Northern America	2	7	26	82	172	307
Oceania	2	2	2	6	13	30

World population (by percentage distribution)

Year	1750	1800	1850	1900	1950	1999
World	100	100	100	100	100	100
Africa	13.4	10.9	8.8	8.1	8.8	12.8
Asia	63.5	64.9	64.1	57.4	55.6	60.8
Europe	20.6	20.8	21.9	24.7	21.7	12.2
Latin America and the Caribbean	2.0	2.5	3.0	4.5	6.6	8.5
Northern America	0.3	0.7	2.1	5.0	6.8	5.1
Oceania	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.5

African conflicts

According to Kimani Nehusi, de way Europe pipo wey dey do slave business affect how de laws for African societies dey deal with pipo wey offend. Crimes wey dem usually dey punish pipo with other ways, now dem go punish am by making dem slaves and selling dem to slave traders. According to David Stannard de man deir book 'American Holocaust', 50% of African pipo deir deaths happen for Africa because of wars between de local kingdoms. And these wars be de ones wey produce most of de slaves. Dis one include not only de pipo wey die for de battles but also de pipo wey die because dem force them march from inside de land to de slave ports on de different coasts. De practice of making enemy fighters and deir villages slaves be very common all over Western and West Central Africa. De slave trade mostly be some by-product of tribal and state wars. E be like a way to comot pipo wey fit cause trouble after dem win war, or to find money for future wars.

On top of dat, Europe nations dem instigate war (be like dey cause war) between African nations. Dem increase de number of war captives by making alliances with nations wey dey fight. And dem shift trade locations for coastal areas to follow how African army conflicts dey move, all to get more slaves. Some African groups dem prove say dem be very good and very wicked for de practice of making pipo slaves. Examples be like Bono State, Oyo, Benin, Igala, Kaabu, Ashanti, Dahomey, de Aro Confederacy and de Imbangala war bands.

For letters wey de Manikongo, Nzinga Mbemba Afonso, write give King João III of Portugal, he talk say de Portuguese goods wey dey come plenty be de thing wey dey boost de trade for Africans. He beg de King of Portugal to stop sending goods but only send missionaries (be like pipo wey dey come preach God dema word). For one of his letters, he write say:

Every day de traders dem dey kidnap our pipo—children from dis country, children of our big men and de ones wey dey serve us, even pipo from our own family. Dis bad bad thing and spoiling dey spread so much reach say our land don empty finish. We need for dis kingdom only pastors and teachers for school, and no goods, unless e be wine and flour for Mass (be like church service). Our wish be say dis Kingdom no go be a place for dem to trade or carry slaves... Plenty of our pipo dey eagerly want de Portuguese goods wey your pipo bring inside our land. To satisfy dis too much hunger, dem dey catch plenty of our black pipo wey be free subjects... Dem dey sell dem. After dem take these pipo wey dem catch [to de coast] secretly or for night... As soon as de pipo dem catch reach de white men dema hands, dem dey brand dem with hot hot iron.

Before de Portuguese pipo come, slavery already dey for de Kingdom of Kongo. Afonso I of Kongo believe say de slave trade suppose to follow Kongo law. When he suspect say de Portuguese pipo dey get pipo wey dem make slaves illegally to go sell, he write to King João III for 1526, dey beg him to stop de whole thing.

De kings of Dahomey dey sell pipo wey dem catch for war go transatlantic slavery (be like across de sea). If dem no sell dem, dem go kill dem for some ceremony dem call am de Annual Customs. As one of West Africa dema main slave states, Dahomey no be popular at all with de neighbouring pipo dem. Just like de Bambara Empire wey dey de east, de Khasso kingdoms too depend plenty on de slave trade for deir money business. How popular one family be, e dey show by de number of slaves dem get. Dis one make say dem dey fight wars just to catch more pipo. Dis trade make de Khasso pipo dey meet de Europe settlements for Africa dema west coast more and more, especially de French pipo dem. Benin come dey get rich plenty during de 16th and 17th centuries from de slave trade with Europe. Slaves from enemy states wey dey inside de land, dem dey sell them and carry them go de Americas inside Dutch and Portuguese ships. De Bight of Benin dema shore no take long come be known as de 'Slave Coast'.

King Gezo of Dahomey talk for de 1840s say:

De slave trade be de main thing wey dey rule my pipo. E be de source and de glory for deir money... de mama dey lull de pikin to sleep with songs of victory over an enemy wey dem reduce to slavery...

For 1807, de UK Parliament pass some law say dem no go do slave trading again. De King of Bonny (wey dey Nigeria now) no happy at all when de whole thing finish:

We think say dis trade must go on. Dat be wetin our 'oracle' and de 'priests' dem talk. Dem say your country, no matter how great e be, e no fit stop a trade wey God Himself ordain am.

Port factories

After dem march de slaves go de coast for sale, dem go hold them for big big forts wey dem call 'factories'. How long dem dey stay for de factories, e dey vary (be like e dey change). But Milton Meltzer talk for his book 'Slavery: A World History' say around 4.5% of de deaths wey dem link to de transatlantic slave trade happen during dis time. In other words, dem believe say over 820,000 pipo die for African ports like Benguela, Elmina, and Bonny. Dis one reduce de number of pipo wey dem ship to 17.5 million.

Atlantic shipment

After dem catch de slaves and hold them for de factories, dem go put them inside de bad bad place dem call am de 'Middle Passage'. Meltzer de man deir research talk say for dis part of de slave trade, about 12.5% of de pipo die. Deir death happen because of wicked treatment and no good care from de time dem catch them until de whole journey finish. Around 2.2 million Africans die during these journeys. Dem dey pack them inside tight, dirty places on top of ships for months. Dem try to stop pipo from dying on board by forcing them to 'dance' (as exercise) on top of de deck. Dem also force-feed slaves wey dey try to starve demselves. De conditions on de ship also make plenty deadly sicknesses spread. Other pipo wey die be de ones wey kill demselves, slaves wey escape by jumping overboard. De slave traders go try to fit anywhere from 350 reach 600 slaves on one ship. Before de African slave trade completely stop by de nations wey dey do am in 1853, 15.3 million slaves don arrive for de Americas.

Raymond L. Cohn, one economics professor wey his research focus on 'economic history' and 'international migration', don research de number of pipo wey dey die among Africans during de Atlantic slave trade journeys. He find out say de number of pipo wey dey die reduce over de years of de slave trade. De main reason be say de time wey de journey take don dey reduce. 'For de eighteenth century, plenty slave journeys dey take at least 2 and a half months. For de nineteenth century, 2 months seem like de longest de journey go take, and plenty journeys be far shorter. Fewer slaves die for de Middle Passage over time mainly because de passage be shorter.'

Even though slavery bring plenty, plenty money, de ordinary sailors dem on top of slave ships no dey get good pay and dem dey suffer serious discipline. Dem dey expect say about 20% of de ship dema crew go die during one journey. Dis number be like, and sometimes even pass, de number of slaves wey dey die. Dis happen because of sickness, flogging (be like serious beating), too much work, or slave uprisings (be like slaves fighting back). Sickness (malaria or yellow fever) be de main thing wey dey cause sailors to die. If plenty crew pipo die on de return journey, e be good for de captain because e go reduce de number of sailors wey he suppose to pay when dem reach deir home port.

Plenty sailors hate de slave trade, and de pipo wey join slave ships dema crews often do am because dem force them, or because dem no fit find any other work.

Seasoning camps

Meltzer also talk say 33% of Africans go die for de first year inside de 'seasoning camps' wey dey all over de Caribbean. Jamaica get one of de most wicked of these camps. 'Dysentery' (be like serious running stomach sickness) be de main thing wey dey cause death. Captives wey dem no fit sell, dem go destroy them for sure. Around 5 million Africans die for these camps, wey reduce de number of pipo wey survive to about 10 million. De reason for de seasoning camps be to wipe out de Africans dema identity and culture and prepare them for slavery. Inside seasoning camps, African slaves dey learn new language and dem adopt new customs. Dis 'seasoning' process dey take about two or three years.

Conditions of slavery on plantations before and after abolition of the transatlantic slave trade

References

General bibliography

Academic books

• Austen, Ralph (1987). African Economic History: Internal Development and External Dependency. London: James Currey. ISBN 978-0-85255-009-0.
• Christopher, Emma (2006). Slave Ship Sailors and Their Captive Cargoes, 1730–1807. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-67966-4.
• Hair, Paul; Law, Robin (1998). "The English in western Africa to 1700". In Nicholas Canny (ed.). Oxford History of the British Empire volume 1: The Origins of Empire. British Overseas Enterprise to the Close of the Seventeenth century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 241–263. ISBN 978-0-19-164734-5.
• Lovejoy, Paul E. (1983). Transformations in Slavery - A History of Slavery in Africa. African Studies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-78430-1.

• Lovejoy, Paul E. (2000). Transformations in Slavery: a history of slavery in Africa. Cambridge University Press.
• Rodney, Walter (1972). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle L'Ouverture. ISBN 978-0-9501546-4-0.
• Schama, Simon (2006). Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-053916-0.
• Sparks, Randy J. (2014). Where the Negroes are masters: an African port in the era of the slave trade. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72487-7.
• Thornton, John (1998). Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800 (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62217-2.
• Williams, Eric (2021) [1944]. Capitalism and Slavery (Third ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-4696-6369-2.

Academic articles

• Borucki, Alex; Eltis, David; Wheat, David (1 April 2015). "Atlantic History and the slave Trade to Spanish America" (PDF). The American Historical Review. 120 (2): 433–461. doi:10.1093/ahr/120.2.433. ISSN 1937-5239. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2024.
• Handley, Fiona J. L. (2006). "Back to Africa: Issues of hosting 'Roots' tourism in West Africa". African Re-Genesis: Confronting Social Issues in the Diaspora. London: University College London Press: 20–31.
• Osei-Tutu, Brempong (2006). "Contested Monuments: African-Americans and the commoditization of Ghana's slave castles". African Re-Genesis: Confronting Social Issues in the Diaspora. London: UCL Press: 9–19.

Non-academic sources

• Meredith, Martin (2014). The Fortunes of Africa. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-635-6.

Read further

• Anstey, Roger (1975). The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition, 1760–1810. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-14846-0.
• Araujo, Ana Lucia (2010). Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic. Cambria Press. ISBN 978-1-60497-714-1.
• Bailey, Anne (2006). African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-5513-7.
• Blackburn, Robin (2011). The American Crucible: Slavery, Emancipation and Human Rights. London & New York: Verso Books. ISBN 978-1-84467-569-2.
• Boruki, David Eltis; Wheat, David (April 2015). "Atlantic History and the Slave Trade to Spanish America". American Historical Review. 120 (2).
• Clarke, John Henrik (1992). Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism. Brooklyn, NY: A & B Books. ISBN 1-881316-14-9.

• Curtin, Philip D. (1969). The Atlantic Slave Trade. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-05400-7. OCLC 46413.
• Daudin, Guillaume (2004). "Profitability of Slave and Long-Distance Trading in Context: The Case of Eighteenth-Century France" (PDF). The Journal of Economic History. 64 (1): 144–171. doi:10.1017/S0022050704002633. ISSN 1471-6372. S2CID 154025254. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2020.
• Domingues da Silva, Daniel B. (2017). The Atlantic Slave Trade from West Central Africa, 1780–1867. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-17626-3.
• Drescher, Seymour (1999). From Slavery to Freedom: Comparative Studies in the Rise and Fall of Atlantic Slavery. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-333-73748-2. OCLC 39897280.
• Eltis, David (2001). "The volume and structure of the transatlantic slave trade: a reassessment". William and Mary Quarterly. 58 (1): 17–46. doi:10.2307/2674417. JSTOR 2674417. PMID 18630381.

• Eltis, David (2000). The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521652315.
• Eltis, David; Richardson, David, eds. (2008). Extending the Frontiers: Essays on the New Transatlantic Slave Trade Database. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300134360.
• Emmer, Pieter C. (1998). The Dutch in the Atlantic Economy, 1580–1880. Trade, Slavery and Emancipation. Variorum Collected Studies Series. Vol. CS614. Aldershot: Variorum. ISBN 9780860786979.
• French, Howard (2021). Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. New York: Liveright Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63149-582-3. OCLC 1268921040.
• Green, Toby (2012). The Rise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa, 1300–1589. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107014367.
• Guasco, Michael (2014). Slaves and Englishmen: Human Bondage in the Early Modern Atlantic. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812245783.

• Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo (2006). Slavery and African Ethnicities in the Americas: Restoring the Links. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2973-0.
• Heywood, Linda; Thornton, John K. (2007). Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas, 1585–1660. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Horne, Gerald (2007). The Deepest South: The United States, Brazil, and the African Slave Trade. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3688-3.
• Inikori, Joseph E.; Engerman, Stanley L., eds. (1992). The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-8237-7.
• Jensen, Niklas Thode; Simonsen, Gunvor (2016). "Introduction: The historiography of slavery in the Danish-Norwegian West Indies, c. 1950–2016". Scandinavian Journal of History. 41 (4–5): 475–494. doi:10.1080/03468755.2016.1210880.
• Landers, Jane (1984). "Spanish Sanctuary: Fugitives in Florida, 1687–1790". Florida Historical Quarterly. 62 (3): 296–313. JSTOR 30146288.
• Lindsay, Lisa A. (2008). Captives as Commodities: The Transatlantic Slave Trade. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-194215-8.

• McMillin, James A. (2004). The Final Victims: Foreign Slave Trade to North America, 1783–1810. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-546-3. – Includes database on CD-ROM.
• Meltzer, Milton (1993). Slavery: A World History. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80536-7.
• Miller, Christopher L. (2008). The French Atlantic Triangle: Literature and Culture of the Slave Trade. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-4127-7.
• Nimako, Kwame; Willemsen, Glenn (2011). The Dutch Atlantic: Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation. London: Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-3108-9.
• Newson, Linda; Minchin, Susie (2007). From Capture to Sale: The Portuguese Slave Trade to Spanish South America in the Early Seventeenth Century. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004156791.
• Northrup, David, ed. (2010). The Atlantic Slave Trade. Independence, KY: Wadsworth Cengage. ISBN 978-0-618-64356-1.

• Rawley, James A.; Behrendt, Stephen D. (2005). The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History (Rev. ed.). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803239616.
• Rediker, Marcus (2008). The Slave Ship: A Human History. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-311425-3.
• Rodney, Walter (1981). How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Revised ed.). Washington, DC: Howard University Press. ISBN 0-88258-096-5.
• Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. (2007). Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-1257-1.
• Smallwood, Stephanie E. (2008). Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-03068-8.
• Schultz, Kara (2015). "The Kingdom of Angola is not very far from here: The South Atlantic Slave Port of Buenos Aires, 1585–1640". Slavery & Abolition. 36 (3): 424–444. doi:10.1080/0144039X.2015.1067397.
• Solow, Barbara, ed. (1991). Slavery and the Rise of the Atlantic System. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-40090-2.
• Thomas, Hugh (1997). The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440–1870. London: Picador. ISBN 0-330-35437-X.
• Wheat, David (2016). Atlantic Africa and the Spanish Caribbean, 1570–1640. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469623412.
• Wheat, David (March 2011). "The First Great Waves: African Provenance Zones for the Transatlantic Slave Trade to Cartagena de Indias". Journal of African History. 52 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1017/S0021853711000119. JSTOR 23017646.
• Poulter, Emma. "Slave-grown cotton in Greater Manchester museums". Revealing Histories, Remembering Slavery.
• "Afro Atlantic Histories resource". National Gallery of Art. Washington, DC.

External links

• Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database Archived 2019-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Quick guide: The slave trade – BBC News
• Slave Trade and Abolition of slavery – Teaching resources at Black History 4 Schools
• British documents on slave holding and the slave trade, 1788–1793