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1448
Portugal makes profitable slave-trading agreements with Moorish and African chiefs.
In 1445, a Portuguese traveler named Joao Fernandes traveled on a trading ship to Rio de Oro. When a Moorish trader wished to take the boat back, he stayed and became familiar with the tradition of slavery and told Prince Henry, on his return, of how slaves were taken during village raids. As a result, the Portuguese ceased the hazardous raiding of the African coast for slaves and from 1448 made profitable slave-trading agreements with Moorish and African chiefs. -
1482
Portuguese build first slave-trade post at Elmina, Gold Coast (now Ghana).
Built in 1482 by Portuguese traders, Elmina Castle was the first European slave-trading post in all of sub-saharan Africa. While the luxurious upper floors housed Europeans, the slave dungeons below were cramped and filthy, each cell often housing as many as 200 people at a time, without enough space to even lie down. Diseases were common and even the floor is higher than when built as waste piled up over years. This was the last point for many before the transatlantic voyage. -
1502
New World slavery of Africans begins in Hispaniola (now Haiti).
Columbus's son Diego Columbus started the African slave trade to the island in 1505. Some newly arrived slaves from Africa and neighboring islands were able to escape and join maroon communities in the mountains. In 1519 Africans and Native Americans joined forces to start a slave rebellion that turned into an uprising, which was eventually crushed by the Spanish in the 1530s. -
1542
New Laws of 1542 discourage enslaving natives in the West Indies and the market for importing enslaved Africans begins to grow.
The encomienda system was incredibly popular in Spanish colonies where Spanish would by land and keep the natives living their as servants. They would teach the natives Christianity in exchange for goods in an essentially slave relation. The new laws of 1542 banned this p[practice and was met with uprising. The system was eventually abolished, leaving a need for a new system of chap labor, slavery. -
British expedition captures Jamaica and the Spaniards' escaped slaves form communities in the highlands, and escape from British plantations.
In 1655 a British expedition under Admiral Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables captured Jamaica and began expelling the Spanish. During the five year process, many slaves escaped into the mountains and formed communities of Maroons. They lived through maintaing small plantations, cultivating, and creating herbal medicines. As time went on, they interacted with the Taino, natives of the land, and sometimes intermarried. -
The Royal African Company is founded.
Due to England's war with the Netherlands, the Royal African Company had to reopen in 1672 under its new name. Ships operated across the Atlantic, leaving from military forts on a 5000mile journey. The company shipped about 5000 slaves per year, most being brought to Caribbean and Virginia. Around 1689, the company lost its monopoly as the demand for slaves became to high for one company to fulfill. The RAC engaged in slave trading until 1731, when it switched to trafficking gold dust and ivory. -
1725-1739: Maroon Wars take place in Jamaica
During the English takeover of Jamaica, many Spanish and English slaves escaped and formed Maroon societies. For years, the British and Maroons skirmished over ownership of the whole island. In 1728, the British brought more troops to Jamaica, escalating conflicts. The Maroons used Guerrilla tactics which proved very effective on the English. The British realized they could not entirely defeat the Maroons and were forced to make peace after suffering high casualties throughout the war. -
Colony for former slaves established in Sierra Leone, Africa.
Freetown, Sierra Leone is the city was founded by British Naval Lieutenant John Clarkson and freed American slaves from Nova Scotia. Freetown was part of the larger colony of the Sierra Leone which was founded by the Sierra Leone Company (SLC) in 1787. They sought to rehabilitate the black poor of London and former slaves of North America by bringing them to the settlement in Sierra Leone where they would stop the African slave trade by spreading Christianity through the continent. -
British Parliament abolishes the transatlantic slave trade.
The members of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade felt that they needed to ask for the stopping of the slave trade rather than slavery throughout the entire empire. When it became illegal to transport slaves, many ships tried to avoid the ban. After some years, the abolitionists realized the trade stopping would;d not lead to the end of slavery as they had originally intended. By the late 1820's, slavery was highly disputed, and slowly began to die out. -
Coolie trade begins as a response to labor shortage after the worldwide movement to abolish slavery.
"The "coolie trade" refers to the importation of Asian contract laborers (especially Chinese and Indians) under force or deception during the 19th century." Coolie's had no better health conditions than slaves as they were mistreated, underfed, and paid poorly. The trade was criticized as a new form of slavery and highly despised. In 1855, England stopped transporting these Asian workers to Cuba and soon the rest of Europe followed suit.
