The era of slave trade was perhaps one of the most embarrassing episodes in the documented history of mankind. Starting from the 16th century all the way up until the 19th century, the slave trade was an active form of commerce and highly profitable at that too. Approximately 12 million slaves were transported during this time period. The inhumanities and cruelties that slaves experienced are something that in today's society would come as a shock to most people but in that time and under those circumstances people of that time would consider it as a necessary evil. They were forced to output inhuman amounts of labor against their will and when they disobeyed or simply gave out they were met with punishments from their masters. Naturally when people are faced with obstacles that they perceive to be insurmountable they turn to some form of higher power for guidance. In this case, the 12 million slaves turned to various different avenues of religion for help.
Before the slave trade, there were many different African religions that were being practiced at the time. However there were still common African religions that a majority of people would follow. For example, in West Africa, societies worshipped a supreme creator to which they made sacrifices to and prayed to. West Africa was also one of the biggest sources for slaves at the time so the people they're also underwent their fair share of hardships. They also created dances and songs to not only complement their beliefs and practices but strengthen the morale of the people. Even after people were sold into slavery, they kept the traditions and practices of their religion alive through folk tales and songs. This created a sort of religious presence in Europe that had never been seen before.
A religion that is quite renowned today for its mysterious and fascinating practices is the practice of Haitian Voodoo. Haitian voodoo is the product of the fear and oppression brought on by slavery.