Portuguese crown all that should be conquered, from Cape Bojador to the
Indies, together with plenary indulgence for those who should die while
engaged in such conquests. The pope granted these requests; though
afterwards, as we shall see, the Spanish discoveries of Columbus and his
successors rendered it necessary that the terms of the grant should be
modified. "And now," says a Portuguese historian, "with this apostolic
grace, with the breath of royal favour, and already with the applause of
the people, the prince pursued his purpose with more courage, and with
greater outlay."


COMMENCEMENT OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

One proof of this popular approval was furnished by the formation of a
company at Lagos, in 1444, who received permission from the prince to
undertake discovery along the coast of Africa, paying him a certain
portion of any gains which they might make. Whether the company was
expressly founded for slave traffic may be doubtful; but it is certain
that this branch of their business was soon found to be the most lucrative
one, and that from this time Europe may be said to have made a distinct
beginning in the slave trade, henceforth to spread on all sides, like the
waves on troubled water, and not, like them, to become fainter and fainter
as the circles widen. For slavery was now assuming an entirely new phase.
Hitherto, the slave had been merely the captive in war, "the fruit of the
spear," as he has figuratively been called, who lived in the house of his
conquer, and laboured at his lands. Now, however, the slave was no longer
an accident of war. He had become the object of war. He was no longer a
mere accidental subject of barter. He was to be sought for, to be hunted
out, to be produced; and this change accordingly gave rise to a new branch
of commerce.