USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the fifteenth century, Portugal became the first European nation to take significant part in African slave trading. The Portuguese primarily acquired slaves for labor on Atlantic African island plantations, and later for plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean, though they also sent a small number to Europe.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Atlantic slave trade was definitively outlawed altogether by Portugal in 1836, at the same time as other European powers, as a result of British diplomatic pressure.

Detailed explanation-3: -Portuguese traders procured not only captives for export, but also various West African commodities such as ivory, peppers, textiles, wax, grain, and copper.

Detailed explanation-4: -Portugal proudly claims to be one of the first countries to abolish slavery following a 1761 decree. But that was only in the homeland. Portuguese slave traders just diverted traffic to the colonies in Brazil, and full abolition didn’t come until more than a century later.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1794, the São José, a Portuguese slave ship, was wrecked near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Destined for Brazil, the ship was carrying more than 400 slaves from Mozambique when it struck a rock and began to sink.