Final answer:
The statement about the Portuguese being the early European leaders in exploration, navigation, and the exportation of African slaves is true. They used advanced navigation tools, built trading posts in Africa, and by 1441 were involved in the slave trade. This period was part of the broader Age of Discovery, which had a profound economic and human impact.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the Portuguese were the early European leaders in exploration, navigation, and the exportation of African slaves is true. Under the leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese mariners utilized the compass, astrolabe, and caravel to navigate the open sea and explore the coast of Africa. They established trading posts along the West African coast, trading in gold and starting in 1441, slaves. These trading posts evolved into stone fortresses known as feitorias, which facilitated the burgeoning slave trade.
The first shipment of enslaved Africans arrived in Portugal in 1441, and the Portuguese continued to build relationships with African leaders to secure their positions in trade and to establish citadels such as the fortress of Elmina. By the end of the 15th century, the slave trade had expanded to include plantations on the islands off Northwest Africa and forecasted the expansion of slavery to the Americas. The Portuguese dominance in African trade was recognized internationally with the 1455 papal decree, Romanus Pontifex.
This colonial and commercial activity was part of a wider trend known as the Age of Discovery, which heralded significant economic growth for European nations and devastating consequences for African societies and enslaved individuals.