ABSTRACT
The Arab power on the east coast was long established when, in the sixteenth century, the European first made his appearance in equatorial Africa; events in the northern continent had led to this development. Originally established as posts on the way to the East, the various colonies soon began to display advantages of their own, and development was pushed ahead. The drain on the manhood of Portugal which resulted from their immense foreign enterprises was to some extent replaced by imported slaves, while Spain required the sturdy African in her South American colonies, where the local natives inconveniently died when forced into servitude. This type of exploitation had something of the characteristics of the Arab invasion, in that the religious motive was strong; ardent Catholics, both Spaniards and Portuguese carried on a campaign of proselytizing, reinforced by the Pope's demarcation of their respective spheres of influence.
