Access to a lot of glorious items fabrics, spices, and gold motivated a European quest to reach South Asia. It was this search that led the Portuguese down the coast of West Africa to Sierra Leone in 1460. Most of the West African coast was explored in the period from 1415 into the 1600s. African exports mainly included ivory, pepper, and gold. Over 175,000 slaves were also taken to the Americas and the Americas and Europe during this period. In 1600 the magnitude of the slave trade grew exponentially.
