Who were the winners and who losers in slave trade Europe?

The transatlantic slave trade had winners and losers both in Europe and Africa.

Winners in Europe:

- Portugal: Portugal and Portuguese settlers were the main beneficiaries of the early slave trade. They controlled access to the African slave trade and the trade routes connecting Europe to Africa, the Americas, and Asia. They also had exclusive rights to trade in certain regions of Africa.

- Spain: Spain also benefitted greatly from the slave trade, using enslaved people to work on plantations and mines. They also had exclusive rights to trade in certain regions of Africa and South America.

- France: France established colonies in the Caribbean and the Americas, where enslaved people were used to work on plantations. France also had exclusive rights to trade in certain regions of Africa.

- Britain: Britain emerged as the dominant power in the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, controlling a large share of the transatlantic slave trade. British slave traders transported millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas and the Caribbean.

- Merchants and traders: Merchants and traders who participated in the slave trade made enormous profits by selling slaves to plantation owners and other buyers in the Americas.

- Plantation owners: Plantation owners in the Americas depended on enslaved people as a cheap and reliable workforce to cultivate cash crops such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton.

- The Catholic Church: The Catholic Church played a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade, as it provided religious and moral justification for the enslavement of Africans. The Church also owned slaves and profited from the slave trade.

- The Portuguese Crown: The Portuguese Crown also profited from the slave trade, as it imposed taxes on the trade and received a share of the profits.

Losers in Europe:

- The poor: The poor and marginalized in Europe suffered from the slave trade, as they were often used as indentured servants or sent as slaves to the colonies.

- Dissenting religious groups: Dissenting religious groups, such as the Quakers and Puritans, opposed the slave trade on moral and religious grounds.

- Humanitarians and intellectuals: Humanitarians and intellectuals, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith, spoke out against the slave trade, arguing that it was morally wrong and economically inefficient.

- Women: Women were often disadvantaged in the slave trade, as they were more likely to be sold as slaves and faced additional exploitation and abuse.