“Though there were thus different categories of slaves in Yoruba communities, they did not suffer dehumanizing and excruciating experiences to the extent of persons subjected to the transatlantic slave trade.

Both Europeans and Africans participated in and benefited from the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave trade was a deplorable period in human history with weighty implications that have influenced perceptions concerning Black persons. The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade diminished the human dignity of every Black person, notwithstanding their inherent qualities. The slave trade disrupted and bled Africa of human and capital resources. Enslavement and uprooting were traumatizing for both the victims who died on the ships and those who survived the transatlantic voyage and arrived in the New World, as well as for their relatives remaining in Africa. Between 1525 and 1866, an estimated 12.5 million enslaved Africans were shipped to the New World, with approximately 10.7 million people surviving the transit. They were taken to Caribbean islands, Central and South America, and North America, with North America receiving about 388,000.”

From “Women in Yoruba Religions” by Oyèrónké Oládémọ