1500-1820: Throughout this three-century span, African captives constituted approximately 80 percent of all people who embarked for the Americas.

1500-1820: Throughout this three-century span, African captives constituted approximately 80 percent of all people who embarked for the Americas. This overwhelming majority highlights the central role of forced African migration in the settlement and economic development of the New World. Despite the high volume of arrivals, mortality on the slave ships averaged at least 15 percent, representing immense human suffering. Countless additional deaths occurred during the forced marches from the African interior and while captives waited in coastal prisons.