Southeast
Africa
409,000
Other^ Af
rica
2 ,^302 ,^00
0
Bight of Biafra
Gold Coast 1,117,000
745,000
Windward
Coast
202,000
Sierra
Leone
246,000
Returned to Africa
122,000
Senegambia
603,000
TOTAL
RECORDED
AFRICAN
CAPTIVES
10,631,000
West^ Central^
Africa
3 ,^472 ,^000
24,000
Big
ht
of
Be
nin
1 ,^53
5 ,^0
00
To
Europe
8,000
(mainly intercepted
slave ships)
Cape
Verde
St. Helena
Cape of Good Hope
Mozambique
Island
Canary
Islands
Ouidah
Copenhagen
Cape Town
(U.K.)
Clotilda arrived on
May 15, 1860,
and departed
around May 24
Christianus V (Quintus)
and Fredericus IV (Quartus)
route to Africa
Depart for the Americas
December 1709
Depart for Africa
Christianus V–November 6, 1708
Fredericus IV–December 5, 1708
São
Jo
sé^
Pa
qu
ete
d’A
fri
ca
ro
ut
e
Ship wrecked
December 27, 1794
Depart for the Americas
December 3, 1794
NIGERIA
CÔTE
D’IVOIRE
LIBERIA
GUINEA
SENEGAL
MAURITANIA
GUBIINEA-SSAU
THE GAMBIA
CAMEROON
EQ.
GUINEA
GABON
ANGOLA
SOUTH
AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE
CONGO
DEM. REP.
OF THE
CONGO
BENIN
TOGO
GHANA
MOROCCO
SPAIN
FRANCE
DENMARK
IRE. U.K.
PORTUGAL
AFRICA
EUROPE
EQUAAATOR
MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, JASON TREAT, AND
SOREN WALLJASPER, NGM STAFF. SCOTT ELDER
SOURCES: TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE DATABASE,
SLAVEVOYAGES.ORG; SLAVE WRECKS PROJECT,
SMITHSONIAN-NMAAHC; ECU MARITIME STUDIES;
GEORGE NØRREGÅRD, FORLISET VED NICARAGUA 1710
DEADLY CROSSING
Of the more than 10 million recorded
captives forced onto ships, on average
one in eight died during the voyage.*
LUCRATIVE TRIANGLE
European nations traded goods, such as
metals and textiles, from their empires to
purchase captives in Africa. Those Africans
were shipped via the months-long Middle
Passage to the Americas to work in agricul-
ture and extract natural resources. Goods
produced by the labor of enslaved people
were then sent back to Europe.
1794
São José Paquete d’Africa
Bound for Brazilian plantations with
more than 500 enslaved southeast
Africans, the Portuguese ship ran
aground during a storm near Cape
Town. Survivors were resold in local
slave markets; 212 captives drowned.
Caribbean
Sea
Gulf^ of
Guinea
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
NO
AM RTH
ER
ICA
SOUTH
AMERIC
A
AFR
ICA
EU
RO
P
E
IRON
SILVER
TEXTILES
BEADS
TOBACCO
RICE
FISH
TA R
CLOTHMETAL TOOLS TIMBER
FIREARMS
FURNITURE
GRAIN
MEAT
BUTTER
SUGAR
COFFEE
MOLASSES
SUGAR
COFFEE
CACAO
AFRIC
Mid ANS
dle (^) Pas
sage
*HISTORICAL RECORDS FROM THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE DATABASE ARE SHOWN IN THIS MAP. WHILE INCOMPLETE, THESE
RECORDS HAVE BEEN USED BY THE DATABASE TO ESTIMATE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF AFRICANS PUT ON SLAVE SHIPS AT 12.5 MILLION.
†SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING TO CONCLUSIVELY IDENTIFY THESE SHIPWRECKS.