First large-scale export of African slaves to the West Indies

From 1510 Africans ceased to be mere curiosities in Portugal. At Lisbon in that year the first considerable number of African slaves for the West Indies were bought and exported. By 1539 the Portuguese were estimated to have been exporting between 10,000 and 12,000 Africans annually. This enforced movement was accelerated by European colonisation of the Americas.