Slaves

“Most, all the slaves that were brought here were already slaves in Africa. Okay. They weren't captured like Kunta Kinte. They were slaves enslaved by other African tribes and then sold for goods to Europeans.”

“The expanding empire was based upon muscle rather than technology. Thanks to about fifteen million slaves who constituted one third of its population and whose life was summed up by Aristotle in four words, work, punishment, and food.”