It should be clearly noted that slavery and the slave trade as an institution was quite different in Africa from how it was practiced by Europeans in the Americas. Slavery was not new to continental Africa. Before the Portuguese ever set their foot on the shores of West Africa, there were slave markets in the hinterland. Slavery as a system was as old as the human race. It was once upon a time practiced everywhere on earth. It was recorded in the scriptures of the Christians that the Israelite were slaves in Egypt. In ancient Rome, the Gladiators were used as sport and entertainment. The Gladiators were European slaves who were captured during wars but some sold themselves to pay certain debts. The Gladiators comprises of Europeans and very few Blacks.