The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade from the 15th - 19th Centuries: A Major Setback to the development of the Indigenoous Economy of the Niger Delt Region of Nigeria

Abstract

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade began in the 15th century during the period of the Portuguese exploration of the coast of West Africa This illicit trade became lucrative such that it spread to the other parts of Africa including Nigeria. The Slave trade was a popular business among the Portuguese, because it was the Portuguese who were first granted the opportunity to have a licence by their king to purchase other human beings - slaves. The other major slave trading countries