MARYLAND SLAVE POPULATION	31

celeration in the 16905. From 1695 to 1708 at least 4,022 slaves arrived in
the province, an average of nearly 300 a year.5 The adult slaves in Mary-
land before 1710 were almost all immigrants, a fact of major importance
for demographic analysis. Prior to the mid-ifkios most slaves came to the
province from the West Indies, although there was substantial immigra-
tion to the Chesapeake colonies directly from Africa in the middle to
late 16705 and again in the mid-i68os. After 1695 most of the new ar-
rivals were African-born, without prior experience in the New World.6
Because sex and age were important determinants of value, ap-
praisers usually distinguished male slaves from female slaves and some-
times recorded their ages in years. In most cases when sex is not
specifically mentioned, it can be inferred from the 'slave's name. Ap-
praisers often recorded specific ages, but without sufficient frequency or
precision to permit a detailed year-by-year analysis. In many inventories
appraisers used only broad categories, distinguishing working adults
from children and old slaves. Even in those inventories in which specific
ages appear, the disproportionate number ending in o (20, 30, 40, etc.)
suggests frequent guessing. Moreover, appraisers often recorded the ages
of some of the slaves in an estate and then lumped the rest—especially
the very young and the old—into residual categories. Because of the lack
of precision and consistency, I have placed slaves in only three age
groupings: o to 15 years, 16 to approximately 50, and old slaves. From
the appraiser's description and the value assigned each slave, all but 10
percent of the slaves can be placed in one or another of these categories.
Classification requires some educated guesswork. In particular, the divi-

the number of blacks found in estate inventories. The figure for 1710 is from the
census in Md. Arch., XXV, 258-259.

5 Margaret Shove Morriss, Colonial Trade of Maryland, i68g-iji$, The Johns Hop-
kins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, XXXII (Baltimore,
1914), 77-80; C.O. 5/749/pt. II, Public Records Office Transcripts, Library of Con-
gress; Md. Arch., XXV, 257; Cecil County Judgments, E, 1708-1716, 1-9, Hall of
Records. A comparison of the entries in the several lists suggests that they do not
include all the slaves brought to Maryland during this period. I have discussed the
growth of slavery in "From Servants to Slaves: The Transformation of the
Chesapeake Labor System" (paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern
Historical Association, November 1972).

0 The sources of Chesapeake slaves and the organization of the trade need in-
vestigation. Useful comments can be found in Craven, White, Red, and Elac\, 74-
109; Philip D. Curtin, The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census (Madison, Wis., 1969),
72-75, 127-162; Morriss, Colonial Trade of Maryland, 79-80; and K. G. Davies, The
Royal African Company (London, 1957). Elizabeth Donnan, Documents Il-
lustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America, 4 vols. (Washington,
D. C., 1930-1935), is an invaluable collection.