West Africa
To work for them.
Portuguese
Brazil
The Portuguese explorers explored in the 1400. They were in search of both slave labor and gold.
To work for them.
The Portuguese word for slave is "escravo."
The Portuguese benefited from the slave trade by acquiring slaves to work on plantations, mines, and households in their colonies, which helped to boost their economy and enrich Portuguese traders and merchants. The slave trade also provided a cheap source of labor that was crucial for the development of their overseas colonies in Africa, Brazil, and other parts of the world. Additionally, the slave trade contributed to the growth of Portuguese ports and cities as key hubs for the trafficking of enslaved people.
The Portuguese slave trade in Africa developed through the establishment of trading posts along the West African coast in the 15th century. They initially traded goods for enslaved Africans captured by local African rulers. As demand for enslaved labor in the Americas increased, the Portuguese expanded their trading networks and began raiding inland communities for slaves.
From Tahiti to the West Indies with breadfruit trees to establish plantations to be worked by cheap slave labor.
Portuguese and Europeans wanted slaves to work in their colonies, primarily in the Americas, because they needed labor for crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Slaves were seen as a cheap and plentiful source of labor that could be exploited for economic gain. Additionally, the transatlantic slave trade became a profitable industry for European slave traders.
Slave labor benefited the French by providing a source of cheap labor that helped boost economic productivity in their colonies, particularly in the Caribbean. This labor force was used in sugar plantations, leading to significant profits for French plantation owners and traders. The use of slave labor also helped France establish a dominant position in the global sugar trade during the 17th and 18th centuries.