1677–1820: Antigua supported a significant slave trade that reached its peak in the mid-1750s and late 1760s, with annual arrivals sometimes exceeding 5,000 …

1677–1820: Antigua supported a significant slave trade that reached its peak in the mid-1750s and late 1760s, with annual arrivals sometimes exceeding 5,000 individuals. While London and Liverpool merchants dominated the traffic during different phases of the century, the island itself successfully outfitted a notable number of its own slaving vessels. The regional sources for these captives shifted over time, moving from a heavy reliance on the Gold Coast toward the Bight of Biafra and the Windward Coast. Following the 1808 ban, most “new” arrivals on the island were the result of shipwrecks or the capture of illegal vessels by the British navy.