Sorry for the many questions I have. I dont expect every one to be answered but I'm just illustrating my confusion on this topic.

I'm interested in how the Atlantic Slave Trade began. To my knowledge, slavery didn't really exist in Europe in the 15th century, though I'm sure they were aware of it and I don't know how historians view serfdom vs slavery. Was there any moral or legal proscription of slavery in Europe around this time? If so, how did this get abrogated to allow for the Atlantic Slave Trade? When Portuguese sailors found slaves for sale on the African coast did they just go "Neat!" and then have at, or was there some controversy and attempt at justifying the purchase of said slaves? If the former, why WEREN'T there slaves in Europe prior to this?

I also read that initially, the slaves once in the New World were given the legal status of indentured servants rather than slaves, and that their legal statys evolved over time towards slavery. Is this true? Does that mean they had "theoretically" the same rights as white indentured servants at first? Does it mean their indenture was temporary, and they were paid in some fashion (or at least were supposed to be even if that didnt happen)? Were they slaves in all but name, the "indenture" being a fiction invented to assuage moral concerns?

Thanks!