The slave trade developed very quickly and was considered to be a commercial activity like any other. It was subject to strict regulations due to the nature of the “merchandise.” European kingdoms began to take an interest in the trade, and chartered Companies to create trading posts along the coasts of Africa. Port cities including Nantes, Bordeaux, Liverpool, and Lisbon began chartering ships to transport people and merchandise.

These had been merchant cities since the Middle Ages, and ship owners considered the slave trade to be a way of diversifying their activities and revenues.

     Excerpt from a Nantes-based ship owner’s commercial code :



So began the slave trade, implicating Europe, Africa, and the Americas.