enslaved

At the turn of the 19th century, the English boycotted sugar produced by enslaved people, dropping demand and opening the market for Indian sugar.

He quoted formerly enslaved people saying stuff like "Whippings was few," they were allowed "preachings and prayers" and the enslavers would sometimes "teach the young ones how to read and write" to defend his minimizations.

Brazil topped the list for the number of enslaved Africans.

But they are a strategic midway point in the Atlantic Ocean, and they were first controlled by the Portuguese as they traded between south-east Asia, Europe and the Americas - in spices, silk and enslaved people.

Mr Van Wyk's assessment is starker: "People are being abused and enslaved by syndicates and buyers."