How did the European traders capture slaves in west Africa?

Answer 1

In most cases, European traders did not capture slaves. West African nation states controlled the regions from which most slaves were abducted; thus Europeans had very limited access to people beyond the coast. As in Europe, African states were sometimes engaged in war, which produced captives, some of whom were kept in a form of indigenous African servitude. After the arrival of Europeans, tribal chieftains began to trade such captives of war, along with other goods. As the American plantation system grew into a highly lucrative enterprise, so did the demand for chattel slaves (human property). Gradually, Europeans became aggressive participants in the abduction of slaves and played a dominant role in organizing slave-raiding parties whose business it was to the capture other Africans in exchange for European goods--weapons, liquor, beads, cloth, etc. European traders then transported victims to the Americas as "merchandise," making a profit on human misery.