1560: Steady and systematic slave trading from the African coast to Brazil began during this year, initiating a centuries-long commercial link.

1560: Steady and systematic slave trading from the African coast to Brazil began during this year, initiating a centuries-long commercial link. Brazil would eventually become the geographic center of the transatlantic traffic, outfitting more voyages in ports like Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia than any other region. Over the course of the trade, approximately 44 percent of all Africans forced into the Atlantic system ended their forced migrations in Brazil. This early start established the Luso-Brazilian system as a distinct and dominant component of the global slave economy.