the niger coast became an area of contact between african and european traders in 1434. the portuguese were the first to make contact with the igbo people. at this time in history, there was more of an emphasis on trade as opposed to empire building; consequently, the portuguese engaged in trading igbo slaves. then the dutch came into the picture, and finally the british after that. the slave trade ended in 1807, so the europeans started to shift their focus away from trade and into industry. the british, in particular, sought to extend their imperialistic influence into igboland.