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I assume you are referring specifically to African slaves taken to the Americas. The first were already slaves in Africa and offered to Europeans by their African owners. When they saw what a profit they could make, they started capturing members of neighboring tribes just to sell them to the white men. When the slave trade was at its height, it was just about like any business ordering supplies - the traders would request a certain number of slaves and the local suppliers would have them waiting. Very few were physically captured by the white slave traders.

In antiquity, slaves were made of any surplus population after the Romans (or other empires) would conquer a city. Survivors of one city were even asked by a conquering Roman general if they would rather live as slaves or be killed. Many chose death. At any given time, about 90% of the city's population consisted of enslaved peoples. When the supply exceeded demand, the option of slavery might not be available, so the Roman authorities would torture many to death in the many arenas around the empire for the entertainment of the masses.

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15y ago

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