[Slavery was prevalent in many parts of Africa for many centuries before the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade#African_slavery) [Africans played a direct role in the slave trade, kidnapping adults and stealing children for the purpose of selling them, through intermediaries, to Europeans or their agents.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade#African_participation_in_the_slave_trade) [Although Europeans provided the market for slaves, Europeans rarely entered the interior of Africa, due to fear of disease and fierce African resistance.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade#European_participation_in_the_slave_trade)