![[Pasted image 20250201173021.png]] Arab slave trading, which exchanged slaves for goods from the Mediterranean, existed long before Islam’s spread across North Africa. Muslims later expanded this trade and enslaved not only Africans but also Europeans, especially from Spain, Sicily, and Italy. Male captives were forced to build coastal fortifications and serve as galley slaves. Women were added to the harem. The major European slave trade began with Portugal’s exploration of the west coast of Africa in search of a trade route to the East. By 1444, slaves were being brought from Africa to work on Portuguese [[Sugar Plantations]] of the [Madeira Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira), off the coast of modern Morocco. The slave trade would expand greatly as European colonies in the New World demanded an ever-increasing number of workers for  extensive plantations growing tobacco, sugar, and eventually rice and cotton, as we will see in later chapters. --- Next: [[2.1 Vikings]] Back: [[1.27 Slavery]]