1776–1830: During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, slave mortality rates varied widely across different Caribbean destinations.

1776–1830: During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, slave mortality rates varied widely across different Caribbean destinations. Vessels arriving in the British Caribbean lost less than 8 percent of their human cargo, possibly due to the impact of parliamentary regulations enacted after 1788. In contrast, ships bound for Dutch and Spanish territories often recorded losses nearing 20 percent of those embarked. For the Spanish Caribbean, mortality rates were further aggravated after 1820 because the trade became illegal, forcing vessels to operate under increasingly hazardous conditions.