The Atlantic slave trade began small, but it grew steadily and eventually reached massive numbers. The earliest European slave traders were the Portuguese explorers during the mid-fifteenth century. There was a noticeable difference between African slavery and European thought of slavery. In the sub-Sahara Africa, Muslim merchants from north Africa, Arabia, and Persia also participated in the African slave trade. The main reason for the establishment of the idea of slavery began as deprivation of workers in all different sorts of labor. Later, the development of the Triangular Trade across the Atlantic Ocean led to the abuse to slaves along the Middle Passage.

Most slaves in Africa came from the ranks of war captives and were also criminals and individuals expelled from their clans. Once they were enslaved, they were usually put to work as cultivators and their owners could do whatever they wanted with them. The slaves...