The Growth in Arrivals

By the 1690s, about 15,000 Africans had reached the thirteen colonies, but in the first decade of the eighteenth century, another 13,000 people arrived, and the number increased another 13,000 in the second decade, almost tripling in the 1720s, when close to 37,000 people landed. This dramatic growth continued into the 1730s, with the arrival of 62,000 Africans. Thereafter, their numbers dropped off, averaging about 35,000 people per decade until the American Revolution, before a final surge in arrivals in the last years of the legal trade.

Between 1801 and 1808, 73,000 Africans arrived in the United States, or about 19 percent of the total number of people sent to this country. During the entire slave trade period, two-thirds of the captives traveled on British ships sailing mainly from Liverpool, Bristol, and London, while 28.5 percent were transported on American ships, especially after the Revolution.



Departures from Africa for the United States

Northern USA Chesapeake Carolinas / Georgia Gulf states USA unspecified Totals
1628-1630 0 141 0 0 0 141
1631-1640 0 0 0 0 0 0
1641-1650 0 0 0 0 0 0
1651-1660 505 911 0 0 0 1,416
1661-1670 970 2,361 0 0 0 3,331
1671-1680 66 3,063 0 0 0 3,129
1681-1690 453 2,887 0 0 189 3,529
1691-1700 1,730 6,789 0 0 0 8,519
1701-1710 120 16,001 256 0 0 16,377
1711-1720 1,001 11,734 2,724 612 0 16,071
1721-1730 1,002 26,607 9,420 7,224 355 44,608
1731-1740 7,039 34,486 33,399 0 272 75,196
1741-1750 6,723 14,849 3,642 260 366 25,840
1751-1760 6,230 17,881 27,605 444 0 52,160
1761-1770 6,472 15,898 34,255 386 0 57,011
1771-1780 176 4,197 30,127 2,722 0 37,222
1781-1790 0 0 15,589 946 0 16,535
1791-1800 309 0 15,599 932 439 17,279
1801-1810 416 78 79,948 6,864 187 87,493
1811-1820 0 0 112 5,027 367 5,506
1821-1830 0 0 0 105 0 105
1831-1840 0 0 0 0 0 0
1841-1850 0 0 0 0 0 0
1851-1860 0 0 350 126 0 476
Totals 33,212 157,883 253,026 25,648 2,175 471,944


African Immigration to the United States - All Carriers

Spain/ Cuba Portugal Great Britain Netherlands U.S.A. France Other Totals

1628-1630

100 0 0 0 0 100

1631-1640

0 0 0 0 0 0 -

1641-1650

0 0 0 0 0 0 -

1651-1660

631 434 0 0 0 1,065 0.3

1661-1670

1,511 866 0 0 0 2,377 0.6

1671-1680

2,400 0 56 0 0 2,456 0.6

1681-1690

2,361 0 193 0 0 2,554 0.7

1691-1700

5,282 0 1,402 0 0 6,684 1.7

1701-1710

13,036 0 96 0 0 13,132 3.4

1711-1720

11,211 0 859 608 0 12,678 3.3

1721-1730

28,250 0 2,200 6,385 0 36,835 9.9

1731-1740

55,118 0 7,060 0 0 62,178 16.0

1741-1750

15,842 0 5,081 222 0 21,145 5.4

1751-1760

36,864 0 6,083 0 0 42,947 11.1

1761-1770

35,867 0 10,827 0 0 46,694 12.0

1771-1780

27,668 0 3,151 0 0 30,819 7.9

1781-1790 		425
6,221 0 6,664 522 362 14,194 3.7

1791-1800

439 0 13,065 885 0 14,389 3.7

1801-1810 		170 192 21,637 0 50,098 255 621 72,973 18.8

1811-1820 		1,165 190 0 0 3,280 0 0 4,635 1.2

1821-1830 		91
0 0 0 0 0 91

1831-1840

0 0 0 0 0 0 -

1841-1850

0 0 0 0 0 0 -

1851-1860

0 0 413 0 0 413 0.1

Totals 		1,851 382 264,438 1,300 110,528 8,877 983 388,359

Percent 		0.5 0.1 68.1 0.3 28.5 2.3 0.3