Question

1. what does the word embarked mean?
2. without looking it up, what can you infer disembarked might mean?
3. roughly, what are the number of slaves who embarked and disembarked in 1700?

embarked:________________________
disembarked:________________________

1. what do you think might account for the difference between total number of slaves embarked and total number of slaves disembarked?
2. what do you think might be the cause for the large drop in embarked and disembarked slaves after 1850?

Explanation:

1. "Embarked" means to board a ship.
2. Since "dis -" is a prefix often indicating the opposite, "disembarked" might mean to get off a ship.
3. Looking at the graph (assuming the y - axis is the number of slaves and x - axis is the year), for 1700, the number of embarked slaves (assuming the graph line represents embarked) is roughly 50,000 and disembarked (if we assume some relation, maybe considering the context of slave trade where some might not survive the journey) could be less, say 40,000 (this is a rough estimate based on typical graph - reading assumptions as the actual graph details for disembarked are not clear from the text).
4. The difference could be due to slaves dying during the voyage (from diseases, harsh conditions, etc.).
5. The large drop after 1850 could be due to the abolition of the slave trade in many countries.

Answer:

1. Boarded a ship.
2. Got off a ship.
3. Embarked: Roughly 50,000; Disembarked: Roughly 40,000.
4. Slaves dying during the voyage.
5. Abolition of the slave trade in many countries.