Mortality Rates of Slave Trade in Cuba and Brazil
The flow of slaves across the Atlantic was primarily driven by the demand for labor in the New World which included Brazil and Cuba. The European colonizers discovered vast new economic opportunities in agriculture in mining. Initially, the demand for laborers was supplied by Native Americans and European laborers. However, when Native Americans succumbed to Old World diseases and European laborers were rarely available, the Spanish introduced African slaves in the New World in 1502 (Cumo 1-2). In the recent years, there has been an increase in the number of studies trying to compare Brazil and Cuba in terms of slave trade. For one, Brazil and Cuba were primary agricultural. Both have large sugar and coffee industries which needed vast number of African slaves. Both were colonized by Portuguese and Spanish colonizers who were adept in the African slave trade. Cuba first ended slavery in 1886 but Brazil followed shortly in 1888 (Araujo 2-3). One crucial point of comparison is that slaves going to Brazil and Cuba endured the Middle Passage as the crowded slave ships crossed the Atlantic. During the Middle Passage, the African slaves had to endure harsh conditions while being vulnerable to hunger, disease, and death. In this paper, the mortality rates of Cuba’s and Brazil’s slave trade from 1761 to the end of slave trade are compared.
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Mortality Rate
The trans-Atlantic slave trade represents a major international movement of slaves and forced labor (Klein et a 92). The map below shoes the major regions and ports involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It shows the numerous ports in Cuba and Brazil that had strong connections with the slave trade traffic (Slave Voyages.Org).
Figure 1. Major regions and ports in the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (https://www.slavevoyages.org/voyage/maps)
At the core of the discussion of trans-Atlantic slave trade is en-route mortality rate. Of more than 27,000 voyages recorded in the Du Bois Institute, more than 5,000 have record on mortality rates attributed to the transport of slaves. The discussion of mortality is so important that it had become a key element in estimating the costs of slave trade (Klein et al, 92-94). Beyond statistics, there is also the debate as to why a significant number of African slaves have died during the Middle Passage. Slave trade opponents blamed maritime conditions such as tight-packing or the high density of slaves crowded in the ships as the primary reasons for the deaths. In contrast, the slave traders denied doing such practice. Rather, they blamed prior causes in Africa such as the racial, genetic, nutrition and physical constitution of the African slaves (Miller 386). Major diseases that contributed significantly to the mortality rates in the trans-Atlantic slave trade are malaria, yellow fever and intestinal disorders (66%) and smallpox, scurvy, suicide attribute for the remaining percentage (Cumo 2). Altogether, modern historians conclude that mortality is affected especially by the sex and age composition of slaves on ship, the economic, social, and political circumstances in their point of origin in Africa, disease and climatic environment, and ever-changing shipboard conditions (Klein et al 95). To further understand the mortality rate in trans-Atlantic slave trade, this paper presents a comparison of slave trade mortality in Brazil and Cuba. All data sets are acquired from https://slavevoyages.org/.
Slave Trade Mortality Rate in Brazil
Trans-Atlantic slave trade in Brazil occurred in four regions: Amazonia, Bahia, Pernambuco, and Southeast Brazil. The Amazonia region needed laborers for its mining and coastal areas and the rapid growth of its cotton production The Pernambuco port received African slaves for its increased plantation outputs. Bahia was most known for its extensive sugar production. The Southeast Brazil was known for its large-scale coffee industry. Among the four regions, average slave mortality rate from 1781 to 1866 is highest in Pernambuco at 11.0%. Amazonia, Southeast Brazil, and Bahia followed with 9.3%, 9.2%, and 7.1% mortality rate, respectively. The average slave mortality rate in the four regions of Brazil is 9.15%.
Figure 2. Mortality Rate of Slave Trade to Brazil
Slave Trade Mortality Rate in Cuba
The rapid growth of sugar, coffee, and tobacco production in Cuba resulted to the high demand of African Slaves.The average percentage of mortality rate in voyage from Africa to Cuba in 1781 to 1866 is 17.7%. Within the timeline, the mortality rate of slaves peaked between 1810 and 1816. This period coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season which could have either sank slave ships or affected the health of the slaves there. Rain oftentimes prevented slaves to get on the deck and get fresh hair, which make them even more vulnerable to developing diseases (Cumo 2). Economic and political conditions (Borucki 81), unpredictable weather conditions, and pre-sailing conditions (Borucki 101) contribute to the high mortality rates in Cuba.
Figure 3. Mortality Rate of Slave Trade in Cuba
Factors affecting mortality rates
The chart below illustrates that the slave trade mortality rate is much higher in Cuba than in Brazil.
Figure 4. Comparing Mortality Rate of Slave Trades in Brazil and Cuba
This result is surprising considering the fact that much more slaves were transported to Brazil compared to Cuba. It is estimated that more than 5.1 million slaves were shipped to Brazil, while only about 778,000 slaves and less than a million were shipped to Cuba (Araujo 1). This means that more than 132,000 slaves from Africa died enroute to Cuba compared to 459,000 to Brazil. There are numerous other factors that best explain why mortality rate of slave trade is much higher in Cuba than in Brazil. Some of the factors that can explain this result are duration of voyage, tight-packing practices, origin of the slaves, and economic and political conditions in their respective trans-Atlantic route.
Duration of Voyage
Considering the distances from Africa to Brazil and Africa to Cuba, it is expected to simply attribute the gap in mortality rates to distance length. However, immigrant voyages that went through much longer distances were not observed to record similar levels of mortality rates. For example, ships containing contract laborers from India and the West Indies to Europe travelled much longer distances, but none of these voyages recorded significantly high mortality rates (Klein et al 94). So, rather than distance, the duration of voyage influences mortality rates. In general, slave ships tended to have higher rates of mortality per voyage and per day at sea compared to other ships such as cargo and immigrant ships (Klein et al 94). Specifically, mortality rates increased with the length of voyage, from >10% in >20 days travel time to nearly 25% mortality rate in <60 days (Cumo 2). While it is hard to pinpoint the number of days travelled by ships from Africa to Cuba and from Africa to Brazil, the known distance and the ocean currents in the said routes provide rational estimates that the duration of voyage is much longer to Cuba than to Brazil. Moreover, the tonnage of the slave ships also explains the duration of voyage. The larger British ships that could cater to thousands of slaves also tend to be slower in their voyage compared to lighter and smaller French or Portuguese slave traders (Klein et all). Simply put, longer sea voyages to the Cuban ports by larger and heavier ships attribute for the differences in mortality rates compared to Brazil.
Tight-Packing
Regardless of destination and origin, there is a strong association between crowded ships and slave mortality (Solar and Duquette 1177). Tight-packing or crowding slave ships significantly contributed to poor conditions of African slaves in the ships. Hundreds to thousands of slaves were shackled in the slave ships. A significant factor that could be identified is the flag carrier of the slave ships. Portuguese flags (Brazil) compared to Spanish/British flags (Cuba) recorded lower mortality rates. This could mean that the Portuguese focused their slave trade to areas with minimal accidents of geography and wind systems in low-mortality regions (Klein et al 101). A more probable explanation for the differential mortality rate between Cuba and Brazil is the differences in practices of slave ships operated under these flags. Specifically, the British slave ships going to Spanish empire nations like Cuba had worse conditions. As shown in the image below, the regulated slave trade of British ships mandate for tight-packing or crowding the slave ships to maximize the profitability of each voyage (Cumo 1). There are also records showing the French-operated slave ships also had lower mortality rates compared to British slave traders (Cohn and Jensen 324)). This helps explain why the slave ships bound to Cuba, mostly operated by British slave traders had much higher mortality rates compared to those operated by Portuguese slave traders to Brazil.
Figure 5. A Copy of Official Mandate for British Regulated Slave Trade
As mentioned earlier, the practice of tight-packing is a debatable topic in terms of mortality. Even during the peak of trans-Atlantic slave trade and even in contemporary history, there were debates about the beast measure of tight-packing or crowding. Some regulations, as shown in the British ship’s regulations, depend on space allowed per slave. Other regulations chose to focus on the ship’s tonnage or weight as the measure of the ship’s carrying capacity (Borucki 103). Quite often, total carrying capacity in terms of space per slave and the ship’s tonnage result to different judgments. In terms of mortality rate in terms of inhumane conditions and health hazards, space per slave onboard is a more crucial factor. However, mortality rate in terms of weather and sea conditions put greater emphasis on the ship’s capacity in terms of tonnage because overcapacity may result to the sinking of the ship. Hence, either of the two factors should be considered in discussing mortality rates.
Moreover, there are also debates regarding crowding of slave vessels in terms profit-maximization debate. Ship captains tended to pack of their vessels to the point where they calculated the risk of further crowding to offset the value of greater cargo. Hence, the differences in mortality could be driven primarily by either infectious disease or bad weather or any conditions beyond the control of the slave trader (Solar and Duquette 1178). In other words, considering this argument, only a fraction of mortality rate differences could be attributed to tight-packing practices.
Origin of the Slaves
The origin of the slaves also played a role in the differences of mortality rate in Brazil and Cuba. Rio de Janeiro primarily drew its slaves from Angola and Salvador from the Bight of Benim and thereby having a low variety of African slaves. On the other hand, Cuba and other Spanish colonies tapped both trans-Atlantic and intra-American slave traders and thereby received African slaves from many different regions (Borucki 101). West African regions and sub-Saharan Africa were recorded to have highest mortality regime. The significant differences are attributed to the nature of enslavement areas and the distances between the inland points of capture to the port. Captured slaves were often forced to march to the sea, endure long distances of walking even without proper rest, protection from harsh weather conditions, and adequate nutrition. These unfavorable conditions even before they sail significantly affect the slaves’ chances for survival during voyage. On the other hand, in the African regions where Brazil sourced out its slaves, the distance from the point of inland capture to the seaport are generally closer (Borucki 101). In other words, the origin of the slaves going to Cuba tend to have suffered worse pre-sailing conditions compared to those being shipped to Brazil, which affect the differences in terms of enroute mortality rates.
Slavery Traffic and Route
However, while pre-sailing conditions influence mortality rate, much of the deaths during the entire transport process happen in the sea. The sea voyage remains to be the most significant factor in analyzing high mortality rates (Cohn and Jensen 327). Specifically, the crucial factor is the conditions of the sea differ in terms of route. In the North Atlantic to Cuba, the wind and ocean currents are oriented in clock-wise movement while in the South Atlantic to Brazil, the current moves counter-clockwise. Vessels departing to South Atlantic would sail into the doldrums which delay the voyage for long periods. This means that despite the distance being longer to Cuba, the sea conditions are generally calmer to the north than how it was South to Brazil (da Silva 485). In other words, the sea condition may be less considered as a factor for the significantly higher mortality rate in Cuba than in Brazil.
Economic and Political Conditions
Cuba and Brazil were entangled with the two warring European powers: British and the French. Cuba was under the Spanish empire siding with the Kingdom of France whereas Brazil being under the Kingdom of Portugal siding with the Kingdom of Great Britain. Nonetheless, despite the rivalry, there was high degree of trading cooperation between the Spanish and the Portuguese in the South Atlantic, particularly in Brazil which explains the unprecedented growth of slave trade in this region. Meanwhile, warfare was more evident within the periphery of the Spanish Empire, including Cuba (Borucki 81; Steckel). In sum, the economic and political conditions that are worse in the Northern Atlantic route to Cuba compared to South Atlantic to the slave trade route of Brazil, which help in explaining the much higher slave mortality rates in Cuban ports than in Brazilian ports.
Conclusion
In sum, Cuban slave trade recorded a much higher mortality rate compared to the Brazilian trans-Atlantic slave trade. This gap is explained primarily by the length of voyage. Other factors are the practice of tight-packing, origin of the slaves, traffic and route, and economic and political conditions in the trans-Atlantic routes. Duration of voyage is the most crucial factor explaining the gap of mortality rates in the two countries. The increase in the number of days is directly linked to an increase in mortality rate. Longer voyages to the Caribbean, particularly to Cuba have longer duration of voyages, and expectedly, higher mortality rates. Increased tonnages or weight of the ships going to Cuba also contribute to the longer voyages regardless of the actual distance. The practice of tight-packing or crowding the slaves in the ships also explain why mortality rate is higher in Cuban slave trade compared to Brazilian slave trade. British ships to the Caribbean mandate the rigid space per slave and later on, changed to ship’s tonnage as a measure of total capacity, which resulted to even harsher onboard conditions for the slaves. Nonetheless, this measure is controversial because this practice affect profit-maximization which is crucial for the slave trade in Cuba, Brazil, and elsewhere. To a greater extent, the origin of the slaves coming to Cuba and Brazil also accounts for the gap in mortality rates. The African regions where Cuba sourced its supply of slaves were known to have worse pre-sailing conditions, worse disease zones, and similar factors. Brazil had selected sources whereas Cuba was more inclusive and diverse in sourcing slaves. To a lesser extent, the slave traffic and route which are affected by harsh weather conditions such as the Atlantic hurricane season and ocean current contribute to the differences in mortality rates too. Finally, the economic and political conditions in their respective trans-Atlantic routes as affected by the warring European superpowers: Britain and France could have also affected the conditions of the slaves onboard. Altogether, these pre-sailing and enroute conditions influence the large gap between mortality rates of slave trade in Cuba and Brazil even before they endured the harsh labor conditions in these mining and agricultural industries.
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