Traffickers and Enslavers

The Iberians were equal opportunity enslavers and chose their victims not on the basis of race or skin color, but simply on vulnerability and availability, so the behavior of the Spanish towards the native peoples of the Caribbean was in keeping with their behavior towards other groups in the Mediterranean. 

However, for the Northern Europeans the notion of racial superiority over non-white peoples was in fact a contributing factor although the driving force was actually profit. 

Although small numbers of Africans came to the Caribbean of their own free will as adventurers, explorers and conquerors, the vast majority, probably 99% of Africans who arrived in the Caribbean, were brought here against their will as captives. 

Apart from the usual culprits England/Britain, France, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, there were several other European states, some of which may surprise you, that were enticed by the immense profits that could be realized from the trans-Atlantic trafficking of Africans directly or from the ancillary trade in goods needed by the traffickers in Africa or by the colonies in the Americas. 

In other words, they wanted a piece of the action. 

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