Was mortality higher on French slave ships and if so, why?

History

Why did slaves have a high mortality rate?

The combination of lower living standards, greater exposure, heavier labor, and poorer medical care gave slaves a higher mortality rate than whites. In 1860, 3.5 percent of the slaves and 4.4 percent of the Whites were over sixty.

Why was there such a high death rate during the Middle Passage?

Disease and starvation due to the length of the passage were the main contributors to the death toll with amoebic dysentery and scurvy causing the majority of deaths. Additionally, outbreaks of smallpox, syphilis, measles, and other diseases spread rapidly in the close-quarter compartments.

What was one of the main problems of the slave ship?

The Middle Passage
Conditions on board slave ships were appalling: huge numbers of people were crammed into very small spaces. Men, women and children were separated, families being torn apart. Overcrowding, poor diet, dehydration and disease led to high death rates.

What was the mortality on long distance voyages in the eighteenth century?

For the century as a whole, the rate of crew deaths averaged 13 percent, but this was for voyages averaging 243 days, significantly longer than the 150-day journey from Dutch ports to the Cape.

Which of the following contributed the most to the high mortality rates among slaves?

What contributed the most to the high mortality rates among slaves making the crossing to the Americas? Mortality rates were high because the crowded, unsanitary conditions encouraged seaboard epidemics.

What was the major reason for the large increase in the number of slaves in the US in the 19th century?

This remarkable growth was the result of two factors: (1) continued importation of new slaves from Africa and the Caribbean; and (2) natural population growth, especially among American-born slaves, who lived longer lives and bore more children than African-born slaves.
 

What was the mortality rate during the Middle Passage?

Despite the captain’s desire to keep as many slaves as possible alive, Middle Passage mortality rates were high. Although it’s difficult to determine how many Africans died en route to the new world, it is now believed that between ten and twenty percent of those transported lost their lives.

What was the mortality in the Middle Passage?

Most crew deaths were on the African coast and middle passage, though about one in four deaths were in the Americas. 17 The data show a reduction in crew mortality loss over the course of the century, from 20 per cent in 1711-70 to 14 per cent in 1771-93.

What is the slavery triangle?

The Atlantic slave trade used a system of three-way trans-Atlantic exchanges – known historically as the triangular trade – which operated between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.



What were the main causes of death of slaves?

Sixty-four percent of all deaths recorded occurred in the slave population. Sixty-two percent of the slave deaths occurred in the male population. Leading causes of death were helminthiasis, whooping cough, fever, cholera, and pneumonia.

What was one of the most common reason for slaves to run away?

African Americans fled slavery in the South for a variety of reasons. Brutal physical punishment, psychological abuse and endless hours of hard labor without compensation drove many slaves to risk their lives to escape plantation life.

Why was it so hard for slaves to run away?

Running away carried heavy risks. If runaways were caught, they would be physically punished, usually by whipping, and might be made to wear chains or handcuffs to prevent them from running again. But if an escape was successful, they did not just gain their freedom.

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