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Europeans by sea · c. 1650–1807

The Atlantic slave trade at the coast

For more than two centuries European ships came to the coast to buy people.

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Overview

For more than two centuries European ships came to the coast to buy people. From the Bight of Biafra alone, about one in ten of all the Africans carried to the Americas before 1700 left from this coast, and about one in seven in the 18th century; British ships carried more than two thirds of them. Three ports, Bonny, Elem Kalabari (New Calabar) and Old Calabar, handled over 90 per cent of that trade, and Bonny led by the middle of the 1700s. Further west, English slavers made the first recorded purchase at Lagos in 1652, and from the 1760s Lagos became a major slave port. Among the captives were Igbo, Efik and Ibibio people and many others from the interior. In 1807 Britain made the trade illegal and sent the Royal Navy to stop the slave ships, though it went on at Lagos for decades more.[1],[5],[6],[4]High confidence

Who took part

What happened

  1. 1652 · Eko (Lagos)

    The first recorded sale at Lagos

    English slavers make the first recorded purchase of captives at Lagos.[5]High confidence

  2. 17th–18th centuries · Old Calabar (Duke Town)

    Old Calabar

    Efik traders at Old Calabar deal with European captains, selling captives brought down from the interior.[4],[1]Medium confidence

  3. By the mid-1700s · Bonny

    Bonny, the leading port

    Bonny becomes the busiest slave port of the Bight of Biafra. With Elem Kalabari and Old Calabar it handles over 90 per cent of the trade from this coast.[1],[2]High confidence

  4. 1760s · Eko (Lagos)

    Lagos opens to the trade

    Akinsemoyin, who had met European slave traders while in exile at Badagry, takes power at Lagos and opens it to the slave trade.[5],[6]High confidence

  5. 1807

    Britain bans the trade

    The United Kingdom makes the international slave trade illegal and sends the Royal Navy to stop slave ships. The trade goes on at Lagos until the British bombardment of 1851.[1],[5]High confidence

Kingdoms involved

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. Wikipedia contributors. Bight of Biafra
  2. Wikipedia contributors. Kingdom of Bonny
  3. Wikipedia contributors. Kalabari Kingdom
  4. Latham, A. J. H. (1973). Old Calabar, 1600–1891: The Impact of the International Economy upon a Traditional Society. Clarendon Press, Oxford (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  5. Wikipedia contributors. History of Lagos (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  6. Mann, Kristin. (2007). Slavery and the Birth of an African City: Lagos, 1760–1900. Indiana University Press (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)