Why Did Europeans Come To West Africa

16th through 19th century Europeans enslaved those from Africa for many reasons. The Portuguese were one of the first European nations to establish outposts in West Africa. In West Africa, and to a further extent Africa itself, slavery was already an old tradition. Upon discovery of the new world, areas in places such as Brazil were converted to cultivate highly profitable crops (such as sugar). Since the natives were very susceptible to European diseases, they were not a good source of labor. ("Africans in America | Part 1 | Narrative | Europeans Come to Western Africa") As the demand for was nearly insatiable, more slaves were taken from mainly Western African nations. The Europeans used the backs of Africans to help fuel their huge