1501–1830: Demographic data shows that by 1750, the Caribbean had received nine times more African captives than the North American mainland.

1501–1830: Demographic data shows that by 1750, the Caribbean had received nine times more African captives than the North American mainland. Despite this massive difference in inflows, by 1830, the black populations in the two regions were approximately equal. This phenomenon was due to the mainland’s positive natural growth rate, which was fueled by a healthier and more nutritionally secure environment. In contrast, the Caribbean population was sustained primarily through continuous and massive new inflows of enslaved people from Africa.