The coastal West African communities that sided with the Europeans during the slave trade were

referred to by
Walter Rodney as the Local Mulatto mercenaries, who came to prominence as a consequence of the necessity to
sell their fellow community members as slaves. The mercenaries were duped by the Europeans, who also
lavished them with many presents in an effort to assist them acquire additional captives for sale. These guys
planned wars and kidnappings of their fellow Africans in order to acquire slaves, who would then be traded for
European items like firearms and other property. As a result, the slave trade began, with a significant portion of
it leading to the suffering of Africans and the abolition of kingdoms like the Yoruba and Kongo-Angola
kingdoms. Due to their lack of strength and weapons, the little West African cultures were more at risk from
slave raids since they had no means to defend themselves against mercenaries with the ability to gather big
armies of men with weaponry.