1642-1807: British Caribbean colonies were the only islands in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to outfit significant numbers of their own slaving vo…

1642-1807: British Caribbean colonies were the only islands in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to outfit significant numbers of their own slaving voyages. Barbados, in particular, served as the second-largest point of departure for slaving ventures in the entire British Empire between 1696 and 1705, trailing only London. Ship captains from these islands primarily acquired their captives on the Gold Coast, utilizing rum produced on Caribbean plantations as their chief trade commodity. This regional organization allowed Caribbean-based merchants to directly manage a portion of the labor supply required for their own sugar estates.