Simplified Map Of The The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Map created by StatistaThe map above shows a simplified map of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade including the total number of people enslaved and their destination country. (Based on modern borders).

The underlying data comes from Slave Voyages, which has more detailed maps, from the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade a couple of which you can see below:

Slave Trade Routes Out of Africa

Captive Africans followed many routes from their homelands to other parts of the world. The map shows the trans-Atlantic movement of these captives in comparative perspective for the centuries since 1500 only.

Estimates of the ocean-borne trade are more robust than are those for the trans-Saharan, Red Sea and Persian Gulf routes, but it is thought that for the period from the end of the Roman Empire to 1900 about the same number of captives crossed the Atlantic as left Africa by all other routes combined.

Numbers & Destinations of Slaves From The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

This map summarizes and combines the many different paths by which captives left Africa and reached the Americas.

While there were strong connections between particular embarkation and disembarkation regions, it was also the case that captives from any of the major regions of Africa could disembark in almost any of the major regions of the Americas.

Even captives leaving Southeast Africa, the region most remote from the Americas, could disembark in mainland North America, as well as the Caribbean and South America. The data in this map are based on estimates of the total slave trade rather than documented departures and arrivals.

Explanation of Disparities in Slave Numbers by Region

1. Economic Drivers:
   • Brazil: Brazil was a major hub for sugar plantations during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Sugar production required intensive labor, leading to the massive importation of enslaved Africans. Brazil also had vast land suitable for agriculture, which allowed plantation economies to flourish.
   • Caribbean: The Caribbean islands, like Jamaica and Cuba, focused heavily on sugar, coffee, and tobacco production. These cash crops required significant labor to meet European demand, resulting in a high demand for enslaved labor.
   • United States: While the U.S. also engaged in plantation agriculture, particularly for cotton and tobacco, its demand for enslaved Africans was lower because of a combination of factors, including its climate (less suited for year-round sugar production), lower mortality rates among enslaved populations, and natural population growth.
2. Mortality and Replenishment:
   • In the Caribbean and Brazil, harsh working conditions, tropical diseases, and high mortality rates meant that enslaved populations could not sustain themselves through natural reproduction. Constant replenishment through the slave trade was required.
   • In contrast, in the United States, enslaved populations experienced slightly better conditions (relative to other regions), allowing for natural population growth. As a result, there was less reliance on importing new enslaved people.
3. Duration of the Slave Trade:
   • Brazil and the Caribbean were involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade for longer periods than the U.S. This extended duration also contributed to the higher numbers.

Estimated Share of Population Descended from Enslaved Africans

Here is a demographic breakdown of the estimated share of populations descended from enslaved Africans in the countries mentioned:

1. Brazil:
   • Over 50% of Brazil’s population identifies as Black or mixed-race (Afro-Brazilian). Brazil has the largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa, largely due to the massive importation of enslaved Africans.
2. United States:
   • Approximately 12-14% of the U.S. population identifies as African American, many of whom are descendants of enslaved Africans.
3. Cuba:
   • Around 30-35% of the Cuban population is of African descent, with Afro-Cubans having roots in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
4. Jamaica:
   • Over 90% of Jamaica’s population is of African descent, reflecting the country’s significant reliance on enslaved labor for sugar production.
5. Guyana:
   • Roughly 30-40% of Guyana’s population is of African descent, with many descended from enslaved people who worked on sugar plantations.
6. Argentina/Uruguay:
   • Both countries have relatively small Afro-descendant populations (under 5%), as enslaved Africans made up a smaller portion of their labor forces, and many populations were later absorbed into broader mestizo identities.
7. Other Caribbean:
   • Most Caribbean nations, such as Haiti, Barbados, and Trinidad, have populations with over 85% African ancestry due to the central role of plantation slavery in their histories.

The Slave Voyages website also has detailed database of all voyages as well as estimates about how many slaves were transported by country which you can see a summary below.

	Spain / Uruguay		Portugal / Brazil		Great Britain		Netherlands		U.S.A.		France		Denmark / Baltic		Totals
	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked
1501-1525	6,363	4,462	7,000	4,914	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13,363	9,376
1526-1550	25,375	17,763	25,387	17,771	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	50,762	35,534
1551-1575	28,167	19,720	31,089	22,174	1,685	1,188	0	0	0	0	66	50	0	0	61,007	43,132
1576-1600	60,056	42,037	90,715	67,879	237	168	1,365	1,160	0	0	0	0	0	0	152,373	111,244
1601-1625	83,496	58,445	267,519	214,808	0	0	1,829	1,577	0	0	0	0	0	0	352,844	274,830
1626-1650	44,313	31,421	201,609	166,017	33,695	26,315	31,729	26,106	824	702	1,827	1,479	1,053	836	315,050	252,876
1651-1675	12,601	9,464	244,793	209,690	122,367	93,209	100,526	81,918	0	0	7,125	5,456	653	544	488,065	400,281
1676-1700	5,860	4,670	297,272	261,523	272,200	208,431	85,847	74,878	3,327	2,548	29,484	22,265	25,685	20,374	719,675	594,689
1701-1725	0	0	474,447	421,232	410,597	339,007	73,816	62,477	3,277	2,612	120,939	95,357	5,833	3,882	1,088,909	924,567
1726-1750	0	0	536,696	470,236	554,042	455,284	83,095	71,268	34,004	27,500	259,095	216,213	4,793	3,820	1,471,725	1,244,321
1751-1775	4,239	3,634	528,693	476,596	832,047	682,454	132,330	117,855	84,580	70,624	325,918	278,479	17,508	14,711	1,925,315	1,644,353
1776-1800	6,415	5,601	673,167	623,298	748,612	673,590	40,773	35,202	67,443	56,601	433,061	369,121	39,199	33,215	2,008,670	1,796,628
1801-1825	168,087	151,367	1,160,601	1,037,342	283,959	253,678	2,669	2,475	109,545	89,990	135,815	117,969	16,316	14,351	1,876,992	1,667,172
1826-1850	400,728	354,813	1,299,969	1,099,018	0	0	357	324	1,850	1,662	68,074	58,579	0	0	1,770,978	1,514,396
1851-1875	215,824	181,526	9,309	7,318	0	0	0	0	476	413	0	0	0	0	225,609	189,257
Totals	1,061,524	884,923	5,848,266	5,099,816	3,259,441	2,733,324	554,336	475,240	305,326	252,652	1,381,404	1,164,968	111,040	91,733	12,521,337	10,702,656

They also have a summary of where the Slaves were embarked which you can see below:

	Senegambia and off-shore Atlantic		Sierra Leone		Windward Coast		Gold Coast		Bight of Benin		Bight of Biafra		West Central Africa and St. Helena		South-east Africa and Indian ocean islands		Totals
	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked
1501-1525	12,726	8,923	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	637	452	0	0	13,363	9,375
1526-1550	44,458	31,117	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2,080	1,463	4,225	2,953	0	0	50,763	35,533
1551-1575	48,319	33,829	1,168	821	0	0	0	0	0	0	3,383	2,457	8,137	6,025	0	0	61,007	43,132
1576-1600	41,778	29,251	237	168	2,482	1,737	0	0	0	0	2,996	2,092	104,879	77,996	0	0	152,372	111,244
1601-1625	23,862	16,703	0	0	0	0	68	48	3,528	2,470	2,921	2,045	322,119	253,322	345	241	352,843	274,829
1626-1650	30,360	23,961	1,372	1,118	0	0	2,429	2,040	6,080	4,969	33,540	26,014	241,269	194,773	0	0	315,050	252,875
1651-1675	27,741	21,524	906	781	351	268	30,806	24,779	52,768	42,445	80,780	59,248	278,079	237,839	16,633	13,399	488,064	400,283
1676-1700	54,141	44,458	4,565	3,937	999	904	75,377	60,178	207,436	168,256	69,080	48,976	293,340	257,244	14,737	10,737	719,675	594,690
1701-1725	55,944	46,604	6,585	5,679	8,878	7,643	229,239	193,704	378,101	318,861	66,833	51,811	331,183	291,266	12,146	8,998	1,088,909	924,566
1726-1750	87,028	71,134	16,637	13,799	37,672	31,252	231,418	193,458	356,760	301,906	182,066	145,939	556,981	484,571	3,162	2,263	1,471,724	1,244,322
1751-1775	135,294	113,487	84,069	70,291	169,094	141,067	268,228	226,885	288,587	250,418	319,709	253,687	654,984	585,280	5,348	3,237	1,925,313	1,644,352
1776-1800	84,920	74,624	94,694	84,335	73,938	66,001	285,643	253,088	261,137	235,369	336,008	293,461	822,056	753,852	50,274	35,899	2,008,670	1,796,629
1801-1825	91,225	79,679	89,326	78,561	37,322	32,891	80,895	72,206	201,054	182,688	264,834	230,979	929,999	838,385	182,338	151,784	1,876,993	1,667,173
1826-1850	17,717	15,726	84,416	75,081	6,131	5,603	5,219	4,532	209,742	187,639	230,328	199,601	989,908	838,688	227,518	187,527	1,770,979	1,514,397
1851-1875	0	0	4,795	4,214	0	0	0	0	33,867	29,813	2	2	156,779	132,783	30,167	22,445	225,610	189,257
Totals	755,513	611,020	388,770	338,785	336,867	287,366	1,209,322	1,030,918	1,999,060	1,724,834	1,594,560	1,317,775	5,694,575	4,955,429	542,668	436,530	12,521,335	10,702,657

And where they ended up:

	Europe		Mainland North America		British Caribbean		French Caribbean		Dutch Americas		Danish West Indies		Spanish Americas		Brazil		Africa		Totals
	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked	Embarked	Disembarked
1501-1525	637	452	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12,726	8,923	0	0	0	0	13,363	9,375
1526-1550	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	50,763	35,534	0	0	0	0	50,763	35,534
1551-1575	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	58,079	40,671	2,928	2,461	0	0	61,007	43,132
1576-1600	266	188	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	120,349	84,242	31,758	26,814	0	0	152,373	111,244
1601-1625	120	85	0	0	681	567	0	0	0	0	0	0	167,942	117,709	184,100	156,468	0	0	352,843	274,829
1626-1650	0	0	141	100	34,045	26,639	628	545	0	0	0	0	86,420	61,482	193,549	163,938	267	172	315,050	252,876
1651-1675	1,597	1,281	5,508	3,970	114,378	86,770	21,149	16,746	62,507	52,190	0	0	41,594	32,292	237,860	204,575	3,470	2,457	488,063	400,281
1676-1700	1,922	1,615	14,306	11,077	256,013	196,501	28,579	21,394	83,472	71,967	22,610	18,146	17,345	14,021	294,851	259,475	575	493	719,673	594,689
1701-1725	182	158	49,096	39,303	337,113	280,470	102,333	82,147	62,948	53,413	10,912	8,059	49,311	37,856	476,813	423,161	202	0	1,088,910	924,567
1726-1750	4,815	3,968	129,004	106,671	434,858	357,150	255,092	212,325	85,226	73,051	5,632	4,515	21,178	17,435	535,307	468,690	612	516	1,471,724	1,244,321
1751-1775	1,230	1,090	144,468	118,822	706,518	580,824	365,296	309,733	132,091	118,145	21,756	18,271	25,129	21,030	528,156	476,010	670	428	1,925,314	1,644,353
1776-1800	28	23	36,277	30,687	661,330	594,879	455,797	390,929	59,294	50,606	43,501	37,763	79,820	69,212	670,655	621,156	1,967	1,373	2,008,669	1,796,628
1801-1825	0	0	93,000	77,613	206,310	183,701	73,261	63,517	28,654	25,355	19,597	17,223	286,384	254,777	1,130,752	1,012,762	39,034	32,224	1,876,992	1,667,172
1826-1850	0	0	105	91	12,165	10,751	26,288	22,880	0	0	5,858	5,021	378,216	333,781	1,236,577	1,041,964	111,771	99,908	1,770,980	1,514,396
1851-1875	0	0	476	413	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	195,989	163,947	8,812	6,899	20,332	17,998	225,609	189,257
Totals	10,797	8,860	472,381	388,747	2,763,411	2,318,252	1,328,423	1,120,216	514,192	444,727	129,866	108,998	1,591,245	1,292,912	5,532,118	4,864,373	178,900	155,569	12,521,333	10,702,654

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