ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a synthesis of the various studies which attempt to quantify the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Since its publication in 1969, Philip D. Curtin's The Atlantic SlaveTrade: A Census has been the subject of a lively debate. Indeed Inikori states categorically that 'there is some consensus among specialists that Curtin underestimated the volume of Atlantic exports'. A number of Curtin's 1969 estimates have been revised upwards, some partial figures by substantial amounts, and consequently it is easy to see why Curtin's global estimate for the total volume of the trans-Atlantic trade has been challenged. The volume of the Atlantic slave trade is estimated at 11,698,000 slaves exported from Africa between 1450 and 1900. Exports from 1450 to 1700 are calculated at 2,235,000 slaves, which amounted to an estimated 19–1 per cent of total Atlantic shipments during the whole period of the slave trade.
