MAP ACTIVITY Map 5.3 The Atlantic Slave Trade Although the Atlantic slave trade lasted from about 1450 to 1870, it peaked during the eighteenth century, when more than six million African slaves were imported to the New World. Only a small fraction of these slaves were taken to British North America. Most went to sugar plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean. READING THE MAP: Where in Africa did most slaves originate? Approximately how far was the trip from the busiest ports of origin to the two most common New World destinations? CONNECTIONS: Why were so many more African slaves sent to the West Indies and Brazil than to British North America?