The Interregional Slave Trade and the Selection of Slaves for the New Orleans Market

The Interregional Slave Trade and the Selection of Slaves for the New Orleans Market The United States slave trade and, more generally, the forced migration of slaves, was the result of interregional differences in the productivity of labor. The commercial success of sugar and short-staple cotton increased the prices of slaves in New Orleans relative to the prices of slaves in the upper South. The interregional price differential created arbitrage opportunities for traders, who purchased slaves in the upper South and resold them in New Orleans. Competition among traders placed a bound on the regional price differential equal to the cost of transporting the slaves to New Orleans.1