In the 15th and 16th centuries, the exploration of the African coast by Europeans, especially the Portuguese, brought about great change. Exploration paved the way towards changes in society and economics of both Africa and Europe. The greatest change however was that of slavery. There was an emergence of a "new slavery," a type a slavery not seen since the time of the Romans.
             Slavery had been present in Africa for hundreds of years. Slaves were most often prisoners of war. Most lived in the house of their master and performed domestic service. They were treated humanely and after sometime most were adopted into the family that they served or became free after a set number of years. (Boyer, 32) Slavery was never passed from generation to generation. (African...)
             In the early 15th century, Europeans began to explore much of the African continent especially the western coast. The most prevalent of these European nations was Portugal, led by Prince Henry the Navigator. The Portuguese traded with local African kingdoms. The Portuguese main interest in Africa was gold. (Europeans...) They traded slaves as well as local goods for gold. They had built trading posts along the Gold Coast by 1482 and had established themselves economically in Africa. (Boyer 32)
             When a need for labor arose in the New World, the Portuguese changed their trading habits. They began to trade goods for slaves. In 1450, the Spanish and Portuguese had established sugar plantations in the New World, particularly in the areas of the Caribbean and Brazil. (Bender, 22) Slaves were also taken to the British West Indies in the late 1500's. (Library...) Sugar was a highly profitable crop but required an enormous amount of human effort to maintain and cultivate. In turn the Spanish and Portuguese wanted to exploit cheap labor to tend their sugar fields. They initially attempted to use Native Americans to farm their lands but most became sick and died o...