Because of the need for field workers up to two-thirds of Africans taken captive were men. In the Senegambia region due to the high demand by buyers, men and boys were taken from all over the region. Women, however, being in less demand, were taken from the easily accessed coastal areas. Most of them belonged to the Jolof people and so, unlike the men, they had a common language. Due to the fear of slaves revolting, men were kept below decks and in chains. Women were usually kept on deck and were sometimes allowed to move around. Some historians say that it was the women who organized many of the slave uprisings at sea. 