Final answer:
The slaves from the slave trade came from various regions in Africa such as Senegambia, Bight of Benin, Kongo, and Bight of Biafra, with European trading posts on the coast being the initial point of departure.
Step-by-step explanation:
Origins and Arrival of Slaves in the Slave Trade
The slaves from the slave trade primarily came from various regions in Africa. Notably, during the 18th century, European slave traders acquired slaves through trade with African groups who controlled the interior trade routes. European trading posts, known as feitorias, dotted the African coast, and it was here that African captives were exchanged, processed, and held before the harrowing journey across the Atlantic, known as the Middle Passage.
Origins of African Slaves varied by the colony they were bought for. In Portuguese Brazil, for example, majority came from Senegambia, Bight of Benin, Kongo, and Bight of Biafra. The French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue saw a high concentration from the Kongo. In the British colony and later American state of South Carolina, there was a significant presence of Africans from West Central Africa.
Following the ban on the importation of enslaved Africans in 1808 in the United States, the domestic slave trade expanded to meet demands, especially for cotton cultivation. New Orleans emerged as the largest slave market in the United States, receiving the enslaved from various states to be sold for work in the Mississippi Valley. The internal slave trade was extensive and legally sanctioned, although illegal smuggling also persisted.