Abstract
Slavery extended widely over the Americas for over four centuries. Its main purpose was to make money. Slavery was not an accident of history. It is at the very foundation of civilization in the West and is to be viewed as its running costs. It is ironic that slavery developed in the West at the very time that reason and the Enlightenment were at their peak. The fact that human exploitation and suffering could lay the foundation for the nations of the Americas should be reason for profound thought and repentance.