Christopher Columbus introduced the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas. Although he was not directly responsible for the full-scale enslavement of Africans, his voyages marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization in the Americas. As European powers established colonies, they began to exploit the labor of indigenous people, often subjecting them to forced labor and other forms of mistreatment.
As the demand for labor increased with the expansion of European colonies, the focus shifted towards African slaves. The transatlantic slave trade involved the capture, transportation, and sale of millions of Africans to work in the Americas as slaves. This brutal system of enslavement had devastating consequences for African communities and led to a long history of oppression, exploitation, and racial discrimination.
While Columbus' voyages were not the sole cause of the enslavement of Africans, they did set the stage for the broader colonial and economic activities that fueled the transatlantic slave trade and the subsequent exploitation of African labor in the Americas.