Asiento is the name given to the West African slave trade that occurred in the 1740s.

Initially, Spain dominated the slave trade. These slaves came mostly from Angola and other West African areas. Later in history, Britain became the powerful player on these routes. The slaves were sent mostly to Spain and Britain's New World colonies.

At the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaty of Utrecht gave to Great Britain a thirty-year asiento, or contract, to furnish slaves to the Spanish, providing British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the traditionally closed Spanish markets in America.