R2415thand16th

24. The development of commercial practices, patterns of mass production and consumption, and their economic and social impact. -African slavery by Portugal 1492 The development of commercial practice, patterns of mass production and consumption is shown through Portugal and the practice of slavery within Africa. Beginning in the fifteenth century, a great number of black slaves entered Europe. Portuguese explorers imported about a thousand slaves a year and sold them at many markets throughout Europe. Also starting in 1500, about seventeen hundred slaves a year were traded to the Portuguese. This impacted the economy as the economic goals of the African rulers became a top priority, leading those rulers to sell off their own people to Portugal to obtain support in war and local resources. This mass consumption of slaves by Portugal also socially impacted Africa as the people of Africa help different thoughts towards the society than the rulers. The practice of slavery between Africa and Portugal greatly impacted the economy and society. MLA: McKay, John P. __A History of Western Society__. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.