Why were slaves branded when they reached the African coast?

Bands of slavers would roam the African countryside, preying on villagers who let ... Once they reached the coast, some captives were taken to slave forts or ... of their belongings, branded, chained, and sent below decks,

The Middle Passage

For the captive Africans aboard a slave ship, the voyage to the New World was a passage of nearly unimaginable horror. For most captives, the separation from their villages and families was still fresh, and now they were thrust into a hostile and alien world, at the mercy of people who were like none they had ever seen before. Upon boarding, they were stripped of their belongings, branded, chained, and sent below decks, where they would be forced to remain for most of the months-long journey.

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