To what extent can white people be blamed for the African slave trade?

Abstract

Before the Atlantic trade and probably before the trans-Saharan trade, slavery existed in Africa as in every other ancient society. However, if we consider the intensity and the conditions of life associated with the trades, the Atlantic trade is a fundamentally new system that did not exist in the past experiences of the African society. The question often raised is: Who is to be blamed for this trade? Is it the white people? Or the Africans themselves? Although African leaders and merchants facilitated the slave trade, the Europeans are the ones who instigated, motivated and maintained the Atlantic trade.