Originally Posted by Ron Bennett

Breeding such traits in only a few generations highly unlikely.

From my understanding, slave shippers, with substantial help from African tribes themselves (the part many history books gloss over), weren't overly interested in individual traits, but rather sheer numbers ... more slaves that made it over alive, the more money made for shippers.

As for slave traders selling at auction, yes strength was an attribute many buyers sought, but not the only one. Think of what slaves were mostly used for ... working in the fields - sure strength helps, but so does stamina when planting / harvesting, etc.

To digress a bit, consider the situation of underfed prisoners kept in harsh WWII concentration camps, and the like ... many of those who survived tended to be of average to even slightly below average height and weight; not big tough guys...

And that relates to slavery in the aspect that slaves too were often severely underfed and tightly packed on the months long voyage to Colonial America - those with lower metabolisms stood a better chance of survival.

In short, much of the traits one associates with black slaves were already present and not bred in by slave traders. Anyone doubting that, take a look at the physical attributes of natives in many African countries today - note the similarities.

Ron