how long did the african slave trade last
The West African slave trade, with its tortuous middle passage, lasted nearly 400 years. During this time, more than 11 million Africans found themselves sold into slavery. Of this number, about 5 percent or 500,000 ended up in the United States.Most of the rest ended up in the West Indies or the Caribbean Islands.n 1860, Nathaniel Gordon, one of the last American slave ship captains, made a voyage to West Africa and loaded his ship, the Erie, with 900 Africans, 600 of whom were children. As the Erie left Africa to begin its long homeward trek, an American warship intercepted it about 50 miles from the African coast.