Gold trade and AFRICAN kingdoms played an important role in the birth of the slave trade in Africa. While slavery was common in Africa, it became a lucrative commercial business when ARABS started buying slaves. African rulers encouraged this trade as it made them wealthier.
The African slave trade was one of the practices carried out with slaves obtained in Africa, although the general use of the expression restricts geographical location to sub-Saharan Africa or "black Africa", identifying as "blacks" the subjects of such slave trade. In spite of being such a denomination a stereotype that does not really indicate any scientifically established anthropological category, the identification of its physical features, especially of dark skin, was the basis of its racial discrimination.