Slavery routes – a short history of human trafficking (2/4) | DW Documentary

How did Africa become a hub for the trade in human beings? Part 2 of this four-part documentary series begins as the Middle Ages comes to an end and Portuguese conquerors head for Africa in search of riches.

At the end of the Middle Ages, European powers realized that the African continent harbored a seemingly inexhaustible wealth of resources. The Portuguese were among the first to set out to conquer the continent. They went in search of gold, but they came back with hundreds of thousands of captives to sell as slaves in Europe.

From the coasts of Africa, the Conquistadores sailed on to Brazil, where they established a trading center. There, the Portuguese set up the first colonies that were populated exclusively by slaves. On the island of São Tomé, off of Gabon, they found their most lucrative commodity: sugar cane, and the sugar plantation became the blueprint for the profitable exploitation of the New World.

Part 1: https://youtu.be/InQvC9c-3K8
Part 2: https://youtu.be/v3ppAebUW54
Part 3: https://youtu.be/XMB7CpjIS9s
Part 4: https://youtu.be/yKwXuRAseIc

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This is the story of a world

whose borders and territories
were drawn by the slave trade.

A world where violence,

subjugation, and profit imposed
their own routes-

and forged empires.

Back then, there was no oil.

Slaves were the driving force
behind these emerging empires.

In the 14th century,

Europe discovered that
it was located temptingly close

to one of the planet’s
most important trading regions.

We tend to forget the riches
that were produced back then in Africa.

The Catalan Atlas, whetted
Europeans’ appetite for conquest.

It mapped the winds,
for the benefit of travelers.

It also provided information

on the military strength
of different nations.

And it provided an economic map,

tracing the trading routes
towards Africa and its resources.

A small kingdom was the first

in the rush to seize control
of the coasts of Africa:

Portugal.

In its wake, a new network
of slavery routes was drawn.

At the very beginning,
this was a Portuguese project.

They were coming out of the crusades,

fighting this bitter war
with Muslims to the south.

So, part of the adventure to Africa

was to basically consolidate
their position

and perhaps also secure an advantage against Muslims.

Lisbon.

The largest city in Portugal and the only European capital on the Atlantic coast.

At the mouth of the Tagus,

the Discovery Monument evokes nostalgia for

a time when the Portuguese made the world their home.

Carved in stone, some 52 meters above the water,

the heroes of Portugal, pioneers of the Conquest,

look triumphantly towards the ocean that gave them such wealth and prestige.

They are headed by Prince Henry “the Navigator,”

the architect of a perilous project:

to open up a new trade route via the Atlantic Ocean.

His aim was to bypass the Muslim rivals in the Mediterranean

and gain access to Africa's Gold Coast.

In the 14th century, the Portuguese succeeded

in ousting the Arabs from their territory.

The Kingdom now had free rein to begin its campaign of conquest.

Promising gold and power,

Henry the Navigator convinced the nobility to follow him in this adventure.

Henry the Navigator was the crown prince.

This mythical figure,

this great Christian Portuguese prince was portrayed as very devout.

He started out commanding a band of raiders:

pirates who took prisoners.

To brave the Atlantic, an ocean few European sailors had dared to explore,

Prince Henry had a new and revolutionary kind of vessel.

Caravels:

high-decked sailing ships that were capable of battling storms in the open sea.

The Portuguese established a sea route taking in the coast of west Africa.

Cap Bojador, the islands of Arguin and Cape Verde.

Each mile covered was a victory over the Muslims,

who were present on the entire Northern part of the continent.

Portugal has traditionally glorified its great explorers-

forgetting that most of them built their fortunes on the slave trade.

Today, Lisbon is undergoing a facelift.

After the Discovery Monument, renovation work extended to the Alfama district.

As construction progressed, the riches of the first “world city” have resurfaced.

By chance,

workers uncovered the foundations of the former commercial harbor.

In the space of one century, Lisbon became the richest capital in Europe,

some distance ahead of Paris, London, or Amsterdam.

Chinese vases, pots from Indonesia, ornamental glassware from Macao.

And amid the shards of earthenware from all over the world,

a woman’s skeleton was also found.

Initial DNA tests revealed that she was an African slave,

buried without a name or gravestone.