On each voyage across the Atlantic, approximately what percentage of enslaved people died due to horrendous conditions?

• A. 10-20%
• B. 1-2%
• C. 30-40%
• D. 50-60%

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding how deadly the Middle Passage was. Enslaved people were packed into ships with terrible sanitation, overcrowding, and brutal conditions, so disease, malnutrition, and abuse caused a significant loss of life on many voyages. Historians estimate that about one in ten to one in five people died during the transatlantic crossing, which is the 10-20 percent range. That range best reflects the typical mortality across many voyages: a substantial number died, but a notable portion survived to be sold in the Americas, and the exact rate varied from voyage to voyage.

Why the other ranges don’t fit as well: a 1-2% loss would imply nearly everyone survived, which contradicts the documented brutality and high disease rates. A 30-40% or 50-60% loss would indicate far more deaths than most records show, given the large numbers who survived each voyage to continue the trade. The 10-20% range captures the commonly cited estimates and the real variability across different ships and years.