The atmosphere might have been one of quiet routine had there not been acute rivalries between the European powers especially the Dutch, who made use of native allies against their rivals. There was little incentive for European men to explore up the rivers, and few of them did so. The coastal tribes acted as intermediaries between them and the slave-hunters of the interior. On the west coast the Europeans lived in fortified factories (trading posts) but had no sovereignty over the land or its natives. In the 17th century the settlements on the west coast of Africa, though they had an important trade of their own in gold and ivory, existed chiefly for the supply of slaves to the West Indies and the Americas. After William III of England rescinded the company's monopoly in 1697 under pressure from the Parliament of England, the RAC became insolvent by 1708, though it survived in a state of much reduced activity until 1752, when its assets were transferred to the newly founded African Company of Merchants, which lasted until 1821. The RAC also dealt in other commodities such as ivory, which were primarily sourced from the Gold Coast region. Historians have estimated that the RAC shipped more African slaves to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade than any other company. While the company's original purpose was to trade for gold in the Gambia River, as Prince Rupert of the Rhine had identified gold deposits in the region during the Interregnum, the RAC quickly began trading in slaves, which became its largest commodity. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of England the RAC was founded after Charles II ascended to the English throne in the 1660 Stuart Restoration, and he granted it a monopoly on all English trade with Africa. The Royal African Company ( RAC) was an English trading company established up in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast.
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