The transatlantic slave trade did not begin with a single investor. Instead, it was initiated by a combination of European monarchs, merchants, and explorers. They financed early voyages to Africa. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) was one of the earliest figures in the African slave trade. He was also very influential.
Prince Henry’s Role in Early Slave Trading
- Portuguese Exploration (Early 1400s)
- Prince Henry sponsored expeditions down the West African coast, seeking gold and a sea route to Asia.
- His sailors reached West Africa (Senegal, Guinea) and began trading for gold, ivory, and enslaved Africans.
- First African Slaves in Europe (1440s)
- In 1441, Portuguese explorer Antão Gonçalves captured African people and brought them to Portugal as slaves.
- By 1444, Portugal was regularly transporting enslaved Africans to Lisbon, selling them as domestic servants.
- Establishing the Atlantic Slave Trade Model
- Portuguese traders built forts (like Elmina Castle, 1482) to secure African captives.
- Initially, slaves were sent to Europe, but after colonization of the Americas (1500s), the trade expanded massively.
Other Early Investors & Key Players
- Portuguese and Spanish Monarchs
- Kings and queens financed slave-trading voyages, including:
- King Afonso V of Portugal (who authorized slave raids in West Africa).
- King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain funded Columbus’s voyages. They later supported the encomienda system, which enslaved Indigenous and African people.
- Merchant Banks & Private Investors
- Italian and German bankers (like the Fugger family) funded early colonial ventures.
- Wealthy merchants in Seville, Lisbon, and Bristol invested in slave ships.
- The Papal Blessing (1450s–1490s)
- The Catholic Church supported slavery through papal decrees:
- Pope Nicholas V’s Dum Diversas (1452) authorized Portugal to enslave non-Christians.
- Pope Alexander VI’s Inter Caetera (1493) divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, encouraging colonization and forced labor.
Transition to Large-Scale Plantation Slavery (1500s–1600s)
- Spanish Empire: Began importing African slaves to the Caribbean and Latin America for sugar plantations.
- Dutch, British, and French Traders: These traders entered the trade in the 1600s. They formed companies like the Dutch West India Company (1621) and the British Royal African Company (1672).
Conclusion
No single person “invented” the slave trade. Prince Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese monarchy were early investors. They systematically invested in African slavery and profited from it. Later, other European powers industrialized the trade, making it a cornerstone of colonial economies for centuries.