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African slaves in ancient Rome

Black slaves, accustomed to the fryclimate, mainly widely used to work on cotton and sugar plantations in the Americas. But African slaves were also in Europe, where they were used as "exotic" domestic servants. The exact date when the first black slaves came to Europe, is still unknown. From the works of some ancient Greek historians, philosophers and writers that have survived to this day, it can be concluded that some (very small) number of African slaves was in Athens and some other cities-policies of Hellas. Most likely, the ancient Greek travelers bought black slaves-Nubians in Egypt and brought back to their homeland. And after Rome defeated Carthage in the 2nd Punic War (218 - 201 BC), and especially after the capture and destruction of the Carthaginians (146 BC) by the Romans, the number of African slaves in the Europe has increased dramatically. In many houses and villas of wealthy Romans appeared black slaves. They, like their white brethren in misfortune, did not have any rights, completely dependent on the humanity and whims of the owners. It is no accident that the Roman scientist Mark Terentius Varro pointed out that a slave is just a talking tool.

When African slaves appeared in medieval Europe

After the fall of the Roman Empire of black slavesin Europe for many centuries forgotten. However, in the first half of the XV century, with the beginning of the era of the Great Discoveries, the Portuguese, searching for the sea route to India to establish the uninterrupted supply of spices and other exotic goods, began to regularly survey the west coast of Africa. They moved ever farther, putting the unknown coast before on the map, often landed, came into contact with the leaders of the local tribes. And in 1444, Captain Nune Trishtan, who reached the mouth of the Senegal River, captured ten Negroes, who were brought to Lisbon and sold at a high price. So the first black slaves came to medieval Europe. Emboldened by the example of Trishtan, some Portuguese captains engaged in this shameful industry that brings good income (it should be noted that the slave trade at that time was not considered not only shameful, but even reprehensible). An example of the Portuguese a little later followed by the Spanish, the French, the British. Whole flotillas of ships annually went to Africa for slaves. And it lasted several centuries, until the slave trade was outlawed.