Question

How was slave trade started? When and how was it get abolished?

Answer 1

The transatlantic slave trade beganduring the 15th century when Portugal, and subsequently other European kingdoms, were finally able to expand overseas and reach Africa. The Portuguese first began to kidnap people from the west coast of Africa and to take those they enslaved back to Europe.Oct 5, 2012In 1807, the British government passed an Act of Parliament abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Slaveryitself would persist in the British colonies until its final abolition in 1838. However, abolitionists would continue campaigning against the international trade of slavesafter this date.

Answer 2

The slave trade - a historical background

In 1807, the British government passed an Act of Parliament abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Slavery itself would persist in the British colonies until its final abolition in 1838. However, abolitionists would continue campaigning against the international trade of slaves after this date.

The slave trade refers to the transatlantic trading patterns which were established as early as the mid-17th century. Trading ships would set sail from Europe with a cargo of manufactured goods to the west coast of Africa. There, these goods would be traded, over weeks and months, for captured people provided by African traders. European traders found it easier to do business with African intermediaries who raided settlements far away from the African coast and brought those young and healthy enough to the coast to be sold into slavery.

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Once full, the European trader's ship would depart for the Americas or the Caribbean on the notorious 'Middle Passage'. During this voyage, the slaves would be kept in the ship's hold, crammed close together with little or no space to move. Conditions were squalid and many people did not survive the voyage. On the final leg of the transatlantic route, European ships returned home with cargoes of sugar, rum, tobacco and other 'luxury' items. It has been estimated that, by the 1790s, 480,000 people were enslaved in the British Colonies.