ued ▁by ▁colonial ▁war fare ▁in ▁the ▁late ▁ 1 6 th ▁and ▁early ▁ 1 7 th ▁centuries . ▁Ne vis , ▁which ▁has ▁similar ▁ge ography ▁and ▁was ▁relatively ▁shelter ed , ▁became ▁an ▁early ▁center ▁of ▁the ▁slave ▁trade ▁in ▁the ▁West ▁Ind ies . ▁The ▁first ▁census ▁of ▁Ne vis , ▁conducted ▁in ▁ 1 6 7 1 , ▁recorded ▁ 1 , 7 3 9 ▁African ▁slaves . ▁Six ▁years ▁later ▁this ▁number ▁grew ▁to ▁ 3 , 8 4 9 , ▁consisting ▁of ▁ 1 , 4 2 2 ▁men , ▁ 1 , 3 2 1 ▁women , ▁and ▁ 1 , 1 0 6 ▁children . ▁ ▁In ▁contrast , ▁a ▁census ▁in ▁St . ▁K itt s ▁recorded ▁ 1 , 4 3 6 ▁African ▁slaves ▁one ▁year ▁later . ▁Att ract ed ▁by ▁the ▁stability ▁of ▁Ne vis , ▁the ▁Royal ▁African ▁Company ▁head qu arter ed ▁their ▁West ▁Indian ▁slave ▁trade ▁in ▁the ▁port ▁city ▁of ▁Char l est own : ▁from ▁ 1 6 7 4 ▁to ▁ 1 6 8 8 ▁more ▁than ▁ 6 , 0 0 0 ▁slaves ▁were ▁sold ▁at ▁au ction ▁here . ▁ ▁In ▁the ▁early ▁years ▁of ▁the ▁plant ation ▁system ▁on ▁St . ▁K itt s ▁and ▁Ne vis , ▁slaves ▁were ▁forced ▁to ▁clear ▁the ▁for ests ▁in ▁prepar ation ▁for ▁sugar ▁production . ▁The ▁difficulty ▁of ▁this ▁work , ▁combined ▁with ▁poor ▁r ations , ▁resulted ▁in ▁a ▁slave ▁death ▁rate