Trans-Atlantic_Slave_Trade

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Reasons for Europe’s First Coming to Africa: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade From the early 1400’s Portugal and other European countries were looking for a way to go around paying high Muslim prices for goods from the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Prince Henry the Navigator designed a plan to go around Africa, instead of through it, to get directly to the market. By the end of the 15th century Portugal had made it around the southern tip of the continent, up the East African coast and on to India, but not within any African contact. As they sailed down Africa, hugged her coast, the Portuguese baptized certain areas, forcing Africans to recognize their authority. Although European influence remained along much of the East African coast they could not gain political control, which still belonged to the Arabs and Africans. This contact with Africa led to the Atlantic Ocean Slave Trade. Portugal did not set out to start the Trans-Atlantic slave trade but with the discovery of the New World and evolution of the plantation system there was a need for labor. The Portuguese had already started sugar plantations on offshore islands where they trade, african, european, africa, slave, century, coast, africans, slaves, portuguese, europeans, end, wanted, settlers, portugal, new, kings, around, along, world, trans-atlantic, took, thus, supply, slavery, since, set, sea, play, participated, over, one, offshore, ocean, need