Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people to the Americas. This trade was operated by slave ships from both Europe and the New World. Some of these voyages used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, particularly in the early phases. Europeans established a coastal slave trade in the 15th century, and trade to the Americas began in the 16th century, lasting through the 19th century. The vast majority of those who were transported in the transatlantic slave trade were from Central Africa and West Africa. In contrast to other slave trades, those taking slaves from Africa generally bought their cargo from West and Central African slave merchants. This applied to both Europeans in the transatlantic trade and to Arab slave traders supplying their own markets. Whilst Europeans did get involved in some raiding, this was much less common and was usually discouraged. In general, the Portuguese built barracoons in their African slaving bases, in which to gather newly purchased captives ready for the next ship to arrive. Though the Dutch established some forts as African bases for similar purposes, the usual approach by North European slave traders was to use their ship as a base in which to gather their cargo. This meant that these ships spent much longer on the African coast than Portuguese vessels, and the first slaves to be bought had to endure much longer confined to the ship.