England's interest in Africa for commercial purposes dates back to 1481, when two Englishmen prepared for an expedition to the Guinea coast. At this time, the King of Portugal, John II, asked Edward IV of England if they could not continue the expedition due to Portugal's claim to the Guinea coast, and Edward obeyed. It was not until 1536 that William Hawkins, father of the famous Elizabethan shipbuilder Admiral Sir John Hawkins, made the first three voyages and traded with Brazil. Hawkins returned in 1553 to the Gold Coast and sold goods mainly for gold near Elmina, on the south coast of present-day Ghana. He then traveled inland to Benin where they obtained pepper and elephant teeth. After losing about two-thirds of his crew to disease, they returned to England. Hawkins made another trip several years later and returned with gold and slaves. As England became more aggressive in African trade, it was common for English ships to be harassed by the Portuguese in an attempt to prevent trade. In 1555, 1556 and 1557, William Towrson led three voyages where he failed due to this type of harassment. However, due to the demand for English goods such as cloth and iron, a lucrative trade was established. During Elizabeth's reign, these voyages were mainly for pepper, gold and elephant teeth. The slave trade was not common at first. Until 1562, when John Hawkins sailed to Sierra Leone with three ships and captured three hundred slaves who he sold to the Spanish in Hispaniola. In 1564, following the success of 1562, there was a second slave raid. On May 3, 1588, Queen Elizabeth recognized this success and granted the first monopoly patent to the west coast of Africa. Hawkins Travels... middle of paper ...... imported to South Carolina, the Duty Act of 1703 was passed. It imposed lower duties on slaves brought directly from Africa. The journey from Africa to South Carolina was traumatic: “each man could have a floor space measuring 16 inches by 6 feet (women had 5 feet, 10 inches)” Upon arrival. in South Carolina, mainly during the summer, due to the demand for crops, they were sold for about 30 pounds sterling, most plantation owners bought them in groups of a dozen. The history of the numerous charters granted before the Royal African Company is significant because it charts the path of legislation and creates a situation for the establishment of the Royal African Company. Past events ultimately lead parliament to decide to open the slave trade to all. The result was a huge demand for slaves in South Carolina as well as the rest of the colonies..