Methods used to capture African enslaved people

• The Atlantic slave trade era began with Europeans going to Africa to kidnap people from coastal villages.
• Europeans abducted Africans using military superiority and surprise.
• Europeans knew that most small African villages or tribes had little to no protection against kidnapping.
• Europeans also exploited African tribes by pitting them against one another.
• While they were away fighting each other, Europeans would take this chance to raid villages and steal Africans for slavery.
• Europeans also took the prisoners of war that had been captured by either side of the warring African tribes during battle.
• When Europeans became reluctant to travel inland due to concerns about safety and disease, middlemen were brought in to do the kidnapping and abduction.
• Middlemen were often wealthy African war lords who captured enslaved people by abduction during surprise raids on villages.
• Many of those enslaved were taken as prisoners of war between warring tribes.
• Adults were bound and gagged and infants were sometimes thrown into sacks.
• Enslaved people often travelled on foot in coffles - lines of captives shackled or bound together.
• Those enslaved because of debt, crime or other punishable actions were given to Europeans in exchange for valuable items that couldn’t be found in Africa such as guns, tobacco, alcohol, textiles and beads.
• In this way a trade in enslaved people between African leaders and European merchants gradually evolved.