Atlantic slave trade

The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the Transatlantic slave trade, was the trade of African slaves by Europeans that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 15th century to the 19th century. Most slaves were shipped from West Africa and Central Africa and taken to the New World. Some slaves were captured through raids and kidnapping, although most were obtained through coastal trading by the Europeans. Most contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12 million Africans arrived in the New World, although the number of people taken from their homestead is considerably higher. Some estimates cited numbers as high as 25 to 40 million. The slave-trade is sometimes called the Maafa by African and African-American scholars, meaning "holocaust" or "great disaster" in Kiswahili. The slaves were one element of a three-part economic cycle—the Triangular Trade and its Middle Passage—which ultimately involved four continents, four centuries and millions of people.