Angolan prince led early campaign against Atlantic slave trade, new book reveals

A new book argues that the movement to end the transatlantic slave trade began with Africans, particularly Angolan prince Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, in the 17th century. This challenges the long-held belief that abolitionist ideas originated in Europe. Mendonça, exiled to Brazil and Portugal, became a key figure advocating for abolition. He presented a case to the Vatican in 1684, demanding an end to slavery for Africans and other marginalized groups, predating European abolitionists by over a century. The book highlights Mendonça's legal arguments and his efforts to unite various oppressed groups against slavery. Despite a Vatican ruling condemning the slave trade in 1686, European states did not act on it, delaying abolition for another 200 years.