Which of the American colonies had the largest enslaved population by the 18th century?

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

Statistics on Slavery

Population of the Original Thirteen Colonies, selected years by type

1750

1750

1790

1790

1790

1810

1810

1810

1860

1860

1860

State

White

Black

White

Free

Slave

White

Free

Slave

White

Free

Slave

Nonwhite

Nonwhite

Nonwhite

108,270

3,010

232,236

2,771

2,648

255,179

6,453

310

451,504

8,643

-

Connecticut

27,208

1,496

46,310

3,899

8,887

55,361

13,136

4,177

90,589

19,829

1,798

Delaware

4,200

1,000

52,886

398

29,264

145,414

1,801

105,218

591,550

3,538

462,198

Georgia

97,623

43,450

208,649

8,043

103,036

235,117

33,927

111,502

515,918

83,942

87,189

Maryland

183,925

4,075

373,187

5,369

-

465,303

6,737

-

1,221,432

9,634

-

Massachusetts

26,955

550

141,112

630

157

182,690

970

-

325,579

494

-

New Hampshire

66,039

5,354

169,954

2,762

11,423

226,868

7,843

10,851

646,699

25,318

-

New Jersey

65,682

11,014

314,366

4,682

21,193

918,699

25,333

15,017

3,831,590

49,145

-

New York

53,184

19,800

289,181

5,041

100,783

376,410

10,266

168,824

629,942

31,621

331,059

North Carolina

116,794

2,872

317,479

6,531

3,707

786,804

22,492

795

2,849,259

56,956

-

Pennsylvania

29,879

3,347

64,670

3,484

958

73,214

3,609

108

170,649

3,971

-

Rhode Island

25,000

39,000

140,178

1,801

107,094

214,196

4,554

196,365

291,300

10,002

402,406

South Carolina

129,581

101,452

442,117

12,866

292,627

551,534

30,570

392,518

1,047,299

58,154

490,865

Virginia

934,340

236,420

2,792,325

58,277

681,777

4,486,789

167,691

1,005,685

12,663,310

361,247

1,775,515

United States

(Source: Historical Statistics of the U.S. (1970), Franklin (1988): http://www.eh.net/encyclopedia/wahl.slavery.us.php)

Throughout colonial and antebellum history, U.S. slaves lived primarily in the South. Slaves comprised less than a tenth of the total Southern population in 1680 but grew to a third by 1790. At that date, 293,000 slaves lived in Virginia alone, making up 42 percent of all slaves in the U.S. at the time. South Carolina, North Carolina, and Maryland each had over 100,000 slaves. After the American Revolution, the Southern slave population exploded, reaching about 1.1 million in 1810 and over 3.9 million in 1860.

Population of the South 1790-1860

Year

White

Free Nonwhite

Slave

1790

1,240,454

32,523

654,121

1800

1,691,892

61,575

851,532

1810

2,118,144

97,284

1,103,700

1820

2,867,454

130,487

1,509,904

1830

3,614,600

175,074

1,983,860

1840

4,601,873

207,214

2,481,390

1850

6,184,477

235,821

3,200,364

1860

8,036,700

253,082

3,950,511

(Source: Historical Statistics of the U.S. (1970).)

Slaves as a Percent of the Total Population selected years, by Southern state

1750

1790

1810

1860

State

Black/total

Slave/total

Slave/total

Slave/total

population

population

population

population

Alabama

45.12

Arkansas

25.52

Delaware

5.21

15.04

5.75

1.60

Florida

43.97

Georgia

19.23

35.45

41.68

43.72

Kentucky

16.87

19.82

19.51

Louisiana

46.85

Maryland

30.80

32.23

29.30

12.69

Mississippi

55.18

Missouri

9.72

North Carolina

27.13

25.51

30.39

33.35

South Carolina

60.94

43.00

47.30

57.18

Tennessee

17.02

24.84

Texas

30.22

Virginia

43.91

39.14

40.27

30.75

Overall

37.97

33.95

33.25

32.27

(Sources: Historical Statistics of the United States (1970), Franklin (1988).)


Holdings of Southern Slaveowners by states, 1860

State

Total

Held 1

Held 2

Held 3

Held 4

Held 5

Held 1-5

Held 100-

Held 500+

slaveholders

slave

slaves

Slaves

slaves

slaves

slaves

499 slaves

slaves

AL

33,730

5,607

3,663

2,805

2,329

1,986

16,390

344

-

AR

11,481

2,339

1,503

1,070

894

730

6,536

65

1

DE

587

237

114

74

51

34

510

-

-

FL

5,152

863

568

437

365

285

2,518

47

-

GA

41,084

6,713

4,335

3,482

2,984

2,543

20,057

211

8

KY

38,645

9,306

5,430

4,009

3,281

2,694

24,720

7

-

LA

22,033

4,092

2,573

2,034

1,536

1,310

11,545

543

4

MD

13,783

4,119

1,952

1,279

1,023

815

9,188

16

-

MS

30,943

4,856

3,201

2,503

2,129

1,809

14,498

315

1

MO

24,320

6,893

3,754

2,773

2,243

1,686

17,349

4

-

NC

34,658

6,440

4,017

3,068

2,546

2,245

18,316

133

-

SC

26,701

3,763

2,533

1,990

1,731

1,541

11,558

441

8

TN

36,844

7,820

4,738

3,609

3,012

2,536

21,715

47

-

TX

21,878

4,593

2,874

2,093

1,782

1,439

12,781

54

-

VA

52,128

11,085

5,989

4,474

3,807

3,233

28,588

114

-

TOTAL

393,967

78,726

47,244

35,700

29,713

24,886

216,269

2,341

22

(Source: Historical Statistics of the United States (1970).)

Slavery was the basis of sectional differences in the U.S. which resulted in the Civil War and  renewed commitment to realize the promise of protection of inalienable rights for all persons in the country. 

Which of the American colonies had the largest enslaved population by the 18th century?

Gray = Confederate States of America
Blue, Pink, &Red = Union States or United States of America
Pink = Border States (slave states), that stayed in the Union.
Red = In 1863, West Virginia separated from Virginia.
Light Green = USA; areas and territories that were not states in 1861.


Which colony had the largest enslaved population?

In fact, throughout the colonial period, Virginia had the largest slave population, followed by Maryland.

How many slaves were in the colonies in 1800?

Table 1..

Where was the largest concentration of slaves sent to in the English colonies?

The majority of enslaved Africans were sent to sugar plantations in the British West Indies, even after the first ship of enslaved Africans landed in Virginia in 1619. By 1776, 20% of the colonial population was African American.

Which of the 13 colonies had slaves?

Directly or indirectly, the economies of all 13 British colonies in North America depended on slavery.