Racism as a specific ideology and system of belief emerged historically with the development of racial hierarchies by white Europeans during the Early Modern era, roughly starting in the 15th century. Before this period, while humans have always exhibited prejudice and conflict between groups, these were not based on the modern concept of race but rather on other distinctions such as religion, culture, or tribe

. A key moment in the invention of modern racism was linked to European exploration and colonization, particularly the Portuguese in the mid-1400s. A Portuguese writer named Gomes Eanes de Zurara wrote in the 1450s about Africans as a distinct, inferior group, which helped justify the emerging Atlantic slave trade and the enslavement of African people. This was the first articulation of a racialized ideology that lumped diverse African peoples into a single "black" category opposed to "whiteness," creating the foundation of modern racial thinking

. The concept of race was further developed during the transatlantic slave trade in the 16th century, when white Europeans and Americans needed a justification for enslaving Africans. This led to the construction of race as a way to legitimize slavery and economic exploitation

. Racism evolved as a system of institutional and cultural discrimination, becoming deeply embedded in societies, especially in the Americas and Europe, and was used to justify colonialism, segregation, and genocide

. In summary, while prejudice and discrimination have existed throughout human history, modern racism—with its specific focus on race as a biological and hierarchical category—was started by white Europeans in the 15th century, particularly linked to the Portuguese slave trade and European imperialism