Slave imports to the Thirteen Colonies by origin and year 1768-1772

It is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau that between 1768 and 1772, almost 27.5 thousand slaves were imported into the Thirteen Colonies and Florida. Of these 27.5 thousand, almost 17 thousand came from Africa between 1769 and 1772, while seven thousand came from the West Indies in these years. Although a larger number of slaves were imported from Africa, slaves imported from elsewhere in the Americas were generally favored and went for a higher price. This was because the slaves who survived the Middle Passage voyage across the Atlantic (mortality rates were around 15 percent in the 1770s) were often weakened from the journey and were often more susceptible to tropical diseases; in contrast, slaves imported from other regions of the Americas were generally accustomed to the climate of the Americas and experienced in slave labor, therefore deemed more valuable by slave traders.