What nature of slave trade becomes clear when the roles of local African chieftains and French merchants are studied together?

Correct answer: It was an intercontinental exploitation network with many intermediaries

Local African chieftains often played a role in supplying captive people, while French merchants transported and sold them across the Atlantic in colonies. This shows that the slave trade was an intercontinental system of exploitation involving several local and overseas intermediaries. Option A is wrong because this was not voluntary migration. Exam tip: remember the slave trade as a network linking Africa, Europe, and American colonies.