The main theme of Module Three is the rapid expansion of European empires during the 15th and 16th centuries and its eventual impact on the African slave trade. While there were many components that contributed to the exploration and growth of European empires, ultimately it was two key forces that continued to fuel the engines of expansion; religious zeal and commerce. There were certainly many non-Christians in the Eastern Hemisphere, and most of the goods Europeans wanted could be imported from Asia and India. However, the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire, the Chinese, and the Japanese were hostile to Christianity; and established trade routes from Asia and India were controlled by Muslims, who had no interest in European exports. With the possibility of converting new Christians reduced in the Ottoman neighbors to the east and a growing trade deficit with Asia, the kings of Portugal, Spain and England – among others – began to look for alternatives to the status quo of trade. Initially the Dutch and Portuguese sought direct access to Chinese and Indian suppliers by staying along the African coast across the continent to reach the source of silk and spices. However, in order for European merchant ships to reach their goal, they had to navigate through waters controlled by Muslim traders who were unwilling to give up their monopoly without a fight. Therefore, it was not long before the process of circumnavigating Africa was questioned and it was believed that a more direct route to Asia could be found by crossing the Atlantic. Little did the brave (and potentially foolhardy) men of the time know, but their transatlantic expeditions would ... middle of paper ... tell just how large the African slave trade would become on its own, without creating nearly a demand insatiable for slaves in the West. However, thanks to colonial plantation owners, at its peak it was estimated that the transatlantic slave trade transported between 18,000 and 32,000 men, women and children from their homeland each year. Considering that the slave trade lasted at least 450 years, this means that between 8.1 and 14.4 million people were torn from their homes and families only to suffer inhumane treatment and humiliation. When you look back at the root causes of the exploitation of other human beings to such grotesque levels, it is difficult to justify the wholesale destruction of other people's homes and cultures for the sake of a particular belief system and the desire for better tasting food. CitedThe American Pageant