# Slave Trade Numbers Hub: [[Topics/Slavery, Colonialism and Teaching History/Slavery, Colonialism and Teaching History|Slavery, Colonialism and Teaching History]] ## Atlantic trade (SlaveVoyages, 1501–1866) | Measure | Estimate | Source | |---|---:|---| | Embarked in Africa | 12,521,337 | [SlaveVoyages estimates](https://legacy.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates) (table by flag of carrier) | | Landed in the Americas | about 10.7M | [PBS / Gates](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/how-many-slaves-landed-in-the-us/) | | Died in the Middle Passage | about 1.8M (difference) | derived | | Landed in mainland North America | about 388,000 (3.6–4% of arrivals) | [PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/how-many-slaves-landed-in-the-us/), [NPS](https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-middle-passage.htm) | | Carried on US-flag ships | 305,326 | SlaveVoyages flag table (not the same as arrivals in the US) | | Brazil / Caribbean | about 4.8M / 4.7M | [NPS](https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-middle-passage.htm) | The Caribbean and South America got about 95% of arrivals ([SlaveVoyages blog](https://www.slavevoyages.org/blog/-major-regions-where-captives-disembarked/120)). The US enslaved population grew mainly by natural increase, to about 3.95M by 1860 ◻. ## Saharan, Red Sea and Indian Ocean trades (Ralph Austen) | Route, 650–1900 | Estimate | |---|---:| | Trans-Saharan | about 10.0M | | Red Sea | about 2.4M | | East African coast / Indian Ocean | about 2.95M | | Total | about 12–17M, depending on the aggregation | Via [BU African Studies tables](https://www.bu.edu/africa/files/2023/11/Slave-Trade-Tables.docx.pdf) and [Nagasawa's summary](http://www.newhumanityinstitute.org/pdfs/article-slavery-in-islam.pdf). These rest on far thinner records than the Atlantic database ⚠️. ## Civil War dead | Estimate | Figure | Source | |---|---:|---| | Traditional (Fox and Livermore era) | about 620,000: Union about 360,000, Confederate about 260,000 | ◻, cited in [Hacker 2011](https://wordpress.viu.ca/davies/files/2018/03/A-Census-Based-Count-of-the-Civil-War-Dead.pdf) | | Hacker, census-based (2011) | about 750,000 (752K); no reliable side split | [NYT, Apr 2012](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percent-in-new-estimate.html), [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153937334/professor-civil-war-death-toll-may-be-really-off) | ## Marshall's ratio, checked Marshall ([Oct 23, 8:41 AM CT](https://x.com/marshallpittman/status/2113626776760979896)): "600,000 men lost their lives in the Civil War for the 200,000 slaves brought to the colonies… That is 3 men giving their lives for each (1) slave". | Inputs | Deaths per person | |---|---:| | Marshall: 600K ÷ 200K | 3.0 | | All dead ÷ North American arrivals: 620K–750K ÷ 388K | 1.6–1.9 | | Union dead only ÷ arrivals: 360K ÷ 388K | 0.93 | | Union dead ÷ people enslaved in 1860: 360K ÷ 3.95M | 0.09 (about 1 per 11) | The 200K figure is about half the SlaveVoyages estimate ❌. Counting Confederate dead as lives given "for" the enslaved doesn't hold, because they fought to keep slavery. "Reparations: paid" is an opinion, not a number.