1 1 Slavery in North Amer­i­ca and the American Republic, 1502–1888 Transatlantic Slave Trade, 1502–1888 Christopher Cumo Chronology 1441 The Portuguese enslave Africans from Mauritania on the coast of West Africa. 1444 The Portuguese begin trading with African merchants for slaves. Shipments begin to Lisbon. 1479 Portugal begins to supply Spain with slaves according to the Treaty of Alcáçovas. 1482 Portugal establishes a slave trading post at the ­ castle of Sao Jorge de Mina at Elmina. 1493 Italian mari­ner Christopher Columbus, sailing ­ under the sponsorship of Spain, plants sugarcane on the Ca­rib­bean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). The crop ­ will go on to become the primary employer of slave ­labor. 1502 The first African slaves arrive in the Western Hemi­sphere en route to Hispaniola. 1510 The slave trade increases as 250 Africans journey from Lisbon to the Amer­ i ­ cas. 1528 According to the first asiento contract, slaves come to the Amer­i­cas directly from Africa.
Previous Page Next Page