The Portuguese were the first to transport slaves across the Atlantic Ocean in 1532 in what came to be known as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. About 15 million Africans were forcefully moved as slaves to the ‘New World,’ namely, the Americas and the Caribbean to work in plantations. Because of the rise of Caribbean sugar plantations from the mid-seventeenth century onwards, The Dutch, French, British and other Europeans became more involved in the slave trade. Later on, the British however, were very active in ensuring the slave trade came to an end by intercepting slave ships. They did this in 1807 and mainly for moral reasons. This inhuman trade ended in the late 19th century. While this was happening, the Portuguese moved to the East coast (Mozambique) of Africa to obtain slaves, but not for long.

When the Arabs from the Middle East arrived on the east coast of Africa, Africans were sold into slavery and sent to Arabia. The slaves served as soldiers, sailors, house workers as well as sex slaves. This took place on a small scale but it changed in the later half of the 18th century for a variety of reasons. Slaves were needed to work in the clove plantations in the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Also, the French had established sugar and coffee plantations in Mauritius and La Reunion. The labour for these plantations mainly came from the East African mainland. Arabs and Africans were both involved in providing the slaves and the trade expanded in the late 18th and early 19 centuries, when the Portuguese joined suit. Once again the British pressured the Sultan of Zanzibar to end to this slave trade in the late 19th century. Zanzibar was known as the largest slave market along the east African coast. In fact, the East Africans that were taken to Arabia have maintained much of their culture. The language of Swahili is spoken in various parts of Arabia such as Oman.

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