A Look at African-American History, Through the Numbers

Four hundred years ago, the first Africans arrived in what is now the U.S.

In recognition of that anniversary and of Black History Month, here are a few numbers that help describe their experience and that of their descendants.

More than 10 million Africans were forcibly transported to the New World in 36,000 voyages between the 16th and 19th centuries, but only around 400,000 ended up in what became the U.S., according to slavevoyages.org.

“A vast majority of slaves didn’t come to the U.S.,” said Paul Finkelman, editor of the Encyclopedia of African American History and president of Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa.

“They went to Brazil and the Caribbean. That’s something people don’t expect.”