Overview of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

By addi.davis21
  • 1400

    Invention of the Caravel

    The invention of this smaller sailing ship meant that expeditions to explore Africa were easier because the ship was easier to maneuver. This encouraged the Portuguese to investigate Africa and eventually led to the slave trade.
  • Period: 1501 to

    4.9 Billion Slaves Brought to Brazil

    In Brazil alone, 4.9 billion slaves were transferred from Africa over this time span, making Brazil the largest importer of slaves in the world. Even today, Brazil remains one of the countries with the largest percentage of people of African descent.
  • 1560

    Slave Trade in Brazil Becomes Regular Practice

    The slave trade existed in Brazil before this, but at this period in time, anywhere from 2,500-6,000 slaves were kidnapped and taken to Brazil annually.

  • Dutch Traders Transport Slaves

    Prior to 1637, it was typical for only Portuguese and Spanish traders to participate in the slave trade. Now, Dutch traders were transporting slaves regularly, greatly contributing to the slave trade.

  • Colonial Plantations Export Sugar

    British traders started to capture slaves and transport them to the colonies regularly in order to help fuel their economy and send money back to Britain. The need for cheap labor in agriculture was the main reason for slavery in the future United States for many years to come.

  • Code Noir Created

    This was a decree issued by Louis XIV that defined French slavery while also limiting what free blacks could and could not do. However, this resulted in a higher percentage of blacks being defined as free people. It also resulted in more free blacks being increasingly literate and more of a livelihood.

  • British Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade Created

    The British Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was a British abolitionist group. The group worked to alert the public of the atrocities performed in the slave trade and slavery as a whole. Ultimately their wishes were answered, with the eventual banning of the slave trade in Britain.

  • Portugal Abolishes Slave Trade

    Although Portugal abolished the slave trade, it was only north of the equator. This meant that Brazil still participated in the slave trade and was still the worlds largest importer of slaves.

  • Slavery Abolition Act 1833

    Britain bans slavery and creates a plan to free all slaves over certain periods of time by 1840. This freed more than 800,000 slaves in all British territories.

  • Brazil Abolishes Slavery

    The official end of the Brazilian slave trade took place in 1888, making Brazil the last country in the western world to abolish slavery. This also ended the slave trade globally.