The Judeo-Christian world contributed as well, and while we are not going to venture into the incredibly complicated role that slavery plays in the Bible, because I vividly remember the comment section from the Christianity episode, the Bible was widely used to justify slavery and in particular the enslavement of Africans, because of the moment in Genesis when Noah curses Ham, saying, Cursed be Canaan, the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers. This encapsulates two ideas vital to Atlantic slavery. One, that slavery can be a hereditary status passed down through generations, and two, that slavery is the result of human sin. Both ideas serve as powerful justifications for holding an entire race in bondage. Thanks Thought Bubble, but there were even more contributors to the ideas that led to Atlantic slavery. For instance, Muslim Arabs were the first to import large number of Bantu-speaking Africans into their territory as slaves. The Muslims called these Africans Zanj, and they were a distinct and despised group, distinguished from other North Africans by the color of their skin.