04
On August 3, 1562, John Hawkins sailed from London with three ships heading south. The slave trade on the west coast of Africa had begun. Other countries quickly followed, all profiting from the human trade. Cities and forts were built along the coast, and black slave hunters sold their compatriots to Europeans for guns and cotton clothing. The slaves were shipped, tightly packed in the cargo of the ships, to America, where they were sold to plantation owners. In America, the ships were loaded with sugar, tobacco, cotton, coffee and spices, all things that could be sold at a high price in Europe.
7/17/1974
