factor behind the three and a half centuries of sustained market development in the Atlantic basin. The discussion is organized into four sections. The first section examines the new evidence from research showing the vital contribution of enslaved Africans and their descendants to the evolution of the nineteenthcentury Atlantic economy from the sixteenth century. The second section presents our much-improved knowledge of the long-term consequences of the forceful procurement of captives shipped across the Atlantic and their employment in the Americas to produce commodities in competition with commodity production in West Africa. The third section traces the current economic plight of people of African descent in the Americas to the socioeconomic conditions under which they worked and lived during enslavement and the systematic discrimination that has persisted since their freedom. The conclusion and epistemological lessons are presented in the fourth section.