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Question: Why did the enslavement of africans begin relatively soon after the europeans began to explore the new world!?
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Actually, the enslavement of Africans began way before the exploration of the New World!.

It was just Africans who were doing it!. African tribes would fight wars and loosing side would often be taken as slaves!. If they had more slaves than they needed, the excess would be sold to another tribe!.

One day, a Portuguese ship showed up off the coast of Africa to trade!. The African villagers offered some slaves as merchandise, and the European slave trade was on!. The Spanish followed suit!.

The main reason is that their colonies were meant to produce maximum output of profit!. This required a huge work force!. First they enslaved the local Indians!. This didn't work out so well!. First, European diseases were killing off the Indians in cataclysmic numbers!. Second, the Indians would run away and hide in territory they knew too well!. also, the Pope issued an edict banning enslavement of the Indians, but for some reason, not Africans!. I guess because they encountered Africans centuries ago and regarded them as slaveable!.

Eventually, the Dutch and the French got in on it too!.

Anyway, a little bit latter, the first English colony in North America was founded in Virginia!. It didn't go so well!. Lots of people died, and they need more workers than they had!. also, most of the workers they had were "Gentleman Adventurers" (read slackers)!.

At the time, the English were allied with Dutch!. A Dutch slave ship showed up in Virgina and offered the slaves at a good price, and slavery in British America was born!.

Eventually, in the early 1800's, Britain outlawed slavery and through the strength of her navy, forced most of the others to outlaw the slave trade!. The Royal Navy bcame the instrument of destruction for slaving in Africa!. Of course, the native Africans who were getting rich of the trade were not happy!. They (black Africans) kept declaring war to get the British to back off!. Some even declared Jihad saying that the British were insulting Islam by trying to end slavery!. It was a crock but they desperate!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Before African's became a substantial part of the colony's population, indentured servants were the usual labor force!. Crops like sugarcane and rice were very hard to work, and in the harsh climate and disease infested new world they needed better labor; Native Americans didn't cut it either, since they were worked to death early!. Then African's started becoming imported, and they could withstand the harsh climate and work force, so they pretty much became more popular!.

Most African's came from the West Indies (the Bahamas), instead of directly from Africa!.Www@QuestionHome@Com