This paper is a 10 page 7 source paper arguing the point that it was not solely the Europeans who began the Atlantic Slave Trade. African society, at the time of first contact with Portugal, already had an active slave system. The rulers of this time needed no persuasion to export their people. However, the rulers did have laws as to who could or could not be traded; it was the breaking of these laws that finally made the trade illegal in Africa. 10 pgs. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
