The transatlantic slave trade was the largest long-distance forced migration in history, lasting from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

It was fueled by the high demand for labor on colonial plantations in the Americas, particularly for producing sugar, cotton, and tobacco.

The system is often described as a 'triangular trade,' connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

European traders exchanged manufactured goods for enslaved Africans, who were captured and sold by other African rulers and traders.

The 'Middle Passage' was the brutal sea journey from Africa to the Americas.

Conditions on the slave ships were horrific, with extreme overcrowding, disease, malnutrition, and violence.

The mortality rate during the Middle Passage was incredibly high, with an estimated 15% of captives dying during the voyage.

Upon arrival in the Americas, the survivors were sold at slave auctions and forced into a life of brutal labor.

An estimated 12.5 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, with about 10.7 million surviving the journey.

The trade had a devastating demographic and social impact on Africa and created new African-diasporic societies in the Americas.