We want three things

“We want three things: powder, ball and brandy; and we have three things to sell: men, women and children." African Chief

“but the inescapable fact that stuck in my craw was: my people had sold me…..My own people had exterminated whole nations and torn families apart for a profit before the strangers got their chance for a cut. It was a sobering thought." Zora Neale Hurston - considered one of the pre-eminent writers of twentieth-century African-American literature.

The British diplomat Wilmot, explained to King Gelele: "England has been doing her utmost to stop the slave trade in this country. Much money has been spent, and many lives sacrificed to obtain this desirable end, but hitherto without success. I have come to ask you to put an end to this traffic and to enter into some treaty with me."

From:
Defending the Heritage