Slaves Captured and Transported from Africa

European traders abducted millions of Africans and enslaved them between the 1400s and the 1800s. This was a component of transatlantic slave. In different ways such as war, raids, kidnapping or even poverty and debt, Africans were captured. To avoid starvation, some families were so desperate that they gave away their children. 

European slave traders didn't go into the villages and take slaves. rather, they engaged in trade with African leaders and middleman, exchange goods like cloth, gun, iron tools and alcohol for captives (slaveryandremembrance.org, n.d.).  

The majority of African slaves were captured from regions such as the Bright of Biafra, the Bright of Benin, and West-Central Africa. Many were forced to walk hundreds of Kilometers from the interior to the slave forts on the coast. 

It was a long and painful journey. People were tied together in long lines, they were referred to as "Coffles" they were tied using wooden yokes, ropes, or chains. A few spent months in holding pens before being offered for sale to European ships.  These Africans had already endured great suffering before they even arrived at the slave ships, losing families, travelling long distances in fear and hunger, an receiving inhumane treatment (slaveryandremembrance.org, n.d.).