“The African Slave Trade in American History” Slavery took place around the world long before ancient times, and the slave trade was a common act around the world for centuries. Slavery previously existed in parts of Africa, Europe, Asia and also in America before the start of the transatlantic slave trade. What began as a huge quest for trade in gold, spices, etc., eventually evolved into a callous human trading system of exporting African slaves, which continued for over 400 years. In the late 15th century, Europeans and Arabs expelled West, Central, and Southeast African slaves overseas, during the era of the African slave trade. European settlement of Africa grew rapidly in Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is commonly believed that Africa had as many as 10,000 different states and independent groups with distinct languages ​​and civilizations before the outside world took over. The Atlantic slave trade took off after the creation of commercial contacts between the continents of Europe, Africa and Asia, considered the old world, and those of North and South America, considered the new world. For many centuries, tidal currents prevented ocean voyages, which were dangerous and risky for the ships then traveling, and as such there was very little naval interaction between the peoples living in these islands. “However, by the 15th century, new European advances in naval technologies meant that ships were better equipped to deal with the problem of tidal currents and could begin to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Between 1600 and 1800, approximately 300,000 sailors engaged in the slave trade...... middle of paper...... was abolished towards the end of the 18th century. Many slaves searched for missing family members and resettled in the north to prevent further enslavement. Some slaves remained on plantations with their former slave masters because of the lives they had established on their plantations. Other freed slaves began to build lives for themselves and their families by starting their own businesses or receiving some form of education. Many freed slaves continued to contribute to the era of industrialization, which brought rapid developments in transportation and communications, particularly in methods of steam navigation, railroads, and telegraphs. Furthermore, the ban on slavery did not remove the pain and humiliation of being a slave for many people. Many descendants of slaves were lastingly affected by this stigma for generations after the abolition of slavery..