Don't know if anyone else answered this. European slaves came from a
variety of sources depending on the period in question. During the
17-19C many were the result raids by various Muslim nations who
bordered on the Mediterranean. The most famous of which were the
Barbary Pirates of Marine Hymn fame. Many European nations paid
tribute to the various rulers who controlled the corsairs, as did the
US. The Barbary Pirates predations were finally ended as a result of
a series of "wars". The US was involved in two, 1801-5 and 1815. The
British, with Dutch assistance, destroyed the Algerian fleet and much
of the port in 1816.

While most of the European slaves were seized in the Med, raids were
carried out on the Spanish mainland and as far away as Iceland. Ships
were also captured along the west coast of Africa. Most slaves were
captured during the numerous wars fought in the Med and Balkans.
Captives both military and civilian were commonly enslaved by Islamic
armies.

The backbone of the Ottoman army was the Jannisary Corps (founded by
Murat I mid 14C, disbanded in 1826 Mahmud II). The first units were
made up of captives and slaves. Later the system was formalized and
Christian boys (7-14) were taken from their families to become slave
soldiers.

James Brothers, RPA
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On Sep 6, 2006, at 22:56, Anita Wills wrote:

> Not only were Africans slaves, so were Europeans, and they sold each
> other as well. My understanding is that Arabs traded in African and
> European slaves, who sold the Europeans?
>
> Anita Wills


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