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Context

The use of enslaved African people for labour was not new. The Spanish and Portuguese had been using enslaved African people since the 16th century.

However, the Atlantic slave trade of the 18th century was a new kind of slavery and on a scale much greater than ever before.

It was the British who played a major part in this trade. The West Indian plantation owners increasingly turned to enslaved African people for labour.

How did use of enslaved African people for labour develop?

These seven factors led to the development of the slave trade:

• The importance of the West Indian colonies
• The shortage of labour
• The failure to find alternative sources of labour
• The legal position
• Racial attitudes
• Religious factors
• Military factors