Part of the archival research behind this project started with the Genoese Merchant Networks in Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean (ca. 1450–1530) project at the Deutsches Historisches Institut in Rom. This project was part of the larger framework Wissen entgrenzen (2019-2021) of the Max Weber Stiftung, funded in the years 2019-2021 by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Germany).

Additional research and the building of a database was completed over the years 2022 to 2026, with funding from the Italian "National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.1: Projects of Relevant National Interest (PRIN)" programme assumed by the Università degli Studi di Teramo and the Università degli Studi di Catania. The project is titled A Database on the Slave Trade between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic (15th-16th centuries).

The database is the result of the generous collaboration and support of the institutions mentioned above.