1808–1867: Over the six decades following the British and U.S.

1808–1867: Over the six decades following the British and U.S. bans, nearly 200,000 enslaved Africans were liberated from the holds of captured slave vessels by international naval patrols. The British Royal Navy was the primary force in this campaign, responsible for nearly 90 percent of all captures and four out of every five detained vessels. These “recaptives” were often resettled in British territories such as Sierra Leone, the Bahamas, and Trinidad, where they lived out their lives as peasants or indentured servants. Despite these massive efforts, at least a million more captives arrived in the Americas illegally during this same period, highlighting the difficulty of effective enforcement.