The Atlantic slave trade arose after trade contacts were first made between the continents of the "Old World" (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and those of the "New World" (North America and South America). For centuries, tidal currents had made ocean travel particularly difficult and risky for the boats that were then available, and as such there had been very little, if any, naval contact between the peoples living in these continents. In the 15th century however, new European developments in seafaring technologies meant that ships were better equipped to deal with the problem of tidal currents, and could begin traversing the Atlantic ocean. Between 1600 and 1800, approximately 300,000 sailors engaged in the slave trade visited West Africa. In doing so, they came into contact with societies living along the west African coast and in the Americas which they had never previously encountered. Historian Pierre Chaunu termed the consequences of European navigation "disenclavement", with it marking an end of isolation for some societies and an increase in inter-societal contact for most others.
However, it was not just along the west African coast, but also in the Americas that Europeans began searching for commercial viability. European Christendom first became aware of the existence of the Americas after they were discovered by an expedition led by Christopher Columbus in 1492. As in Africa however, the indigenous peoples widely resisted European incursions into their territory during the first few centuries of contact, being somewhat effective in doing so. In the Caribbean, Spanish settlers were only able to secure control over the larger islands by allying themselves with certain Native American tribal groups in their conflicts with neighbouring societies. Groups such as the Kulinago of the Lesser Antilles and the Carib and Arawak people of (what is now) Venezuela launched effective counterattacks against Spanish bases in the Caribbean, with native-built boats, which were smaller and better suited to the seas around the islands, achieving success on a number of cases at defeating the Spanish ships.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, colonists from Europe also settled on the otherwise uninhabited islands of the Atlantic such as Madeira and the Azores, where with no slaves to sell, exporting products for export became the main industry. Africans themselves played a role in the slave trade, by selling their captive or prisoners of war to European buyers. Selling captives or prisoners was common practice among Africans and Arabs during that era, just as it had been in ancient Europe. The prisoners and captives who were sold were usually from neighboring or enemy ethnic groups.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, colonists from Europe also settled on the otherwise uninhabited islands of the Atlantic such as Madeira and the Azores, where with no slaves to sell, exporting products for export became the main industry. Africans themselves played a role in the slave trade, by selling their captive or prisoners of war to European buyers. Selling captives or prisoners was common practice among Africans and Arabs during that era, just as it had been in ancient Europe. The prisoners and captives who were sold were usually from neighboring or enemy ethnic groups.
