Indeed, a statistician has reckoned, though not convincingly, that in the whole period before 1810 these did not exceed 385,500[43] [Footnote 42: Snelgrave, _Guinea and the Slave Trade_, p.

159.] [Footnote 43: H.C.Carey, _The Slave Trade, Domestic and Foreign_ (Philadelphia, 1853), chap.

3.] In selling the slave cargoes in colonial ports the traders of course wanted minimum delay and maximum prices.

But as a rule quickness and high returns were not mutually compatible.

The Royal African Company tended to lay chief stress upon promptness of sale.