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Some of the earliest European colonies in Africa began their lives as slave forts. [Woman laying in hospital bed and doctor appears]

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So if we ever hear somebody say something like…

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“Why can’t Africa get it together?”

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We think of how messed up our country would be if it had been founded for the sole purpose

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of furthering the slave trade.

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Of course, only a few slave forts ended up going from colonies to actual countries. [Man plants South African flag]

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This was because most were located between 25 degrees latitude North and 10 degrees latitude

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South.

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Otherwise known as…Terrifying-bugville. [Bug appears beside girl]

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The conditions in this climate band were heaven for mosquitoes and tsetse flies.

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And these bugs spread some scary stuff. [Mosquitoes flying in the sky]

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Like malaria, which gives you a fever so bad that you can hallucinate for weeks or months…or,

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you know, die… [Man falls onto bed]

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…yellow fever, which can do as much damage to your liver as a decade of heavy drinking…

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…and, of course, that standby of African history, sleeping sickness. [Man with sickness laying on bed]

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These diseases were bad enough for Africans.

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But Europeans' immune systems really couldn’t handle them.

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Permanently settling within 30 North and 10 South was almost suicidal.

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So let’s just say that a lot of these forts had staffing problems. [Stacks of folders appear on desk]

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Who cares if there’s a good medical plan… if there’s no cure for the disease...

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what does that do for you?

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But below 10 South, it was a different story.

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Mosquitoes there had less luck and bred in fewer seasons. [Mosquito on a hospital bed]

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Can’t say we feel bad for them.

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It wasn't exactly a healthy choice for Europeans to move there permanently. [Man approaches a tank of dirty water]

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Two areas where white people thrived and grew in the early years were just below the 10

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South line on both coasts.

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They were Portuguese West Africa, which was centered on the slave fort of Luanda…

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…and Portuguese East Africa, centered on the Swahili city of Sofala.

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Wow.

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Who knew awful places could have such pretty names?

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Both colonies began in the slave trade era and primarily exported…unsurprisingly… [Colony on the beach and ship appears]

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slaves.

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As the European population grew, European control increased, and the forts became early

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colonies.

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In the 18th and 19th centuries, cultures changed, missionaries preached, and merchant companies [Man preaching to African men]

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remade the local economies to exploit the areas for raw resources.

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And that big wheel of oppression just kept rolling along…

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Portugal's African colonies are a top-notch example of how the slave trade led naturally [Portugal african colonies appear on a map]

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to colonialism.

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The mechanics of the slave trade and early merchant activity created zones of political

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control in Africa. [Zones of political control appear on African map]

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When the slave trade had the kibosh put on it… [Boot kicks slave trade ship]

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…instead of giving up control, European governments found new ways to profit.

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It’s like Africa was a great big piñata that Europe just couldn’t stop beating. [European man hitting Africa pinata]

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There had to be more candy in there, right?

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After 1699, Portugal lost interest in East Africa.

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It was too far away for slave trading to be competitive, and too undeveloped to compete [Man walking into door of freedom]

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with other East African traders.

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Did they set the land and its people free?

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Heck no.

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Instead of running it themselves, Portugal gave most of East Africa to a handful of companies. [Man shaking womans hand]

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It would be sort of like if Facebook suddenly governed California.

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Uh oh…

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