Between 1450 and the late 1800’s, it is estimated that between 10 and 15 million Africans were kidnapped, and sold into slavery. The slave trade was incredibly profitable, but very cruel too. For over 300 years, slaves were captured along the west coast of Africa, often with the active help of African kings and merchants. Slaves were traded for beads, textiles, brandy, horses, and guns. Slavery was illegal in the United States after the Civil War, but slaves continued to be traded in Central and South America for another 40 years, until finally slavery was declared illegal in Central and South America as well.
Slavery existed not only in America, but in other parts of the world as well. Denmark was the first European country to abolish slavery in 1804, while Britain abolished slavery in March 1907. In the United States, slavery was one of the main issues in the Civil War between the North and the South. The last day of legal slavery in the USA was 31st January, 1865, while the world wide abolishment of slavery took place only in 1926.