Bocio Art

In the 17th century, the African continent was little known to the Europeans, who imagined it peopled with savages steeped in idolatry.  Portugal carried on the slave trade of black Africans to the Canary Islands, and in 1635, slaves were purchased from the coastal kingdoms or acquired through raids and wars.  Placed aboard ships leaving the Gulf of Guinea, they were taken first to Guadeloupe, and Martinique and later to Saint-Domingue. (4)