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Around 1500, the Atlantic slave trade emerged alongside the expansion of the Iberian empires. The Portuguese circumvented Africa and established lucrative trade routes stretching as far as East Asia, while the Spanish colonized the Americas. Spanish expansion was characterized by indigenous genocide and the spread of diseases (particularly smallpox), resulting in the near extermination of native populations. While many survivors were enslaved, factors such as resistance, disease susceptibility, and lack of labor skills, meant that output did not meet the demands of colonizers. Europeans themselves were also weakened by tropical disease and often too proud to perform hard labor. Portuguese enclaves along the African coast became major trading ports for African slave traders, selling captives to Europeans who then transported these captives to the New World. The transport of slaves was the Middle Passage of triangular trade, which was the exchange of manufactured goods (textiles, weapons, metals) from Europe to Africa, slaves to the Americas, and the produce of slave labor (sugar, coffee, and cotton) from the Americas to Europe, where it was then consumed or used in manufacturing.