A phenomenon that drove much of the world economy between the 16th and 19th centuries was the transatlantic slave trade. The Transatlantic Slave Trade consisted of European nations transporting slaves from the coast of West Africa to European colonies in the Americas. An often asked question is: Why were people from the African continent chosen to be slaves in the New World? Africans were chosen as slaves because of their availability, productivity, and relatively low cost. European plantation owners believed Africans were more productive at manual labor and more resistant to disease.1 However, before slaves could be transported, Africans had to be kidnapped, captured, or sold to their various ethnic groups within the African continent . Each European slave nation established contact with African slave traders within Africa, particularly in the regions called the Gold Coast and Slave Coast. Through these men, Europeans were able to acquire Africans.2 One powerful drawing is that of an unknown artist, made before 1878, illustrating African men, women and children being taken, presumably along the west coast of Africa, to be sold to European slavers. .3 In the illustration titled Slave Convoy in Africa, African slavers are shown dressed in traditional African clothing while wielding European rifles to protect and maintain their slave convoy. Additionally, a slaver is shown executing a rebellious slave. Looking at the image one realizes that it is drawn in such a way that the slave convoy vanishes into the seemingly endless horizon. This particularly highlights the long path that the abolitionist movement must travel or has travelled, depending on the date the artist completed his work. After the Africans were captured...... middle of paper......: A census deepens estimates of the slavery era in West Africa to allow scholars to understand the number of Africans and Europeans involved in the industry. Perhaps the most helpful source I encountered was Trading Souls, in which Beckles and Shepherd use charts, maps, and illustrations in addition to primary sources. Specifically, in the chapter devoted to the financial and commercial organization of the slave trade, the authors include contemporary photographs of various slave strongholds, a map detailing the specific routes taken by slavers from West Africa to the West Indies, and a which details Spanish exports. of slaves from Africa between 1595 and 1640.34 In conclusion, the most successful sources were those in which the authors were able to establish an organized chronology and include numerical evidence to support their arguments.