Charles V Issues First Asiento, Formalizing Slave Trade to Americas

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (King of Spain) granted the first formal asiento — an exclusive contract — authorizing the direct shipment of 4,000 enslaved Africans annually to the Spanish Caribbean colonies, bypassing the previous requirement that enslaved people be 'seasoned' in Spain first. This bureaucratic innovation massively accelerated the slave trade and established the asiento system that would govern the trade for over two centuries, later fought over by European powers as a source of enormous profit.