History of Slavery in Massachusetts
In an effort to build more historically inclusive tours, I've been busy researching much of the often intentionally-avoided history of slavery in the state. I wanted to share with you this collection of sources and information. Click around (on the yellow text) and educate yourself. I'll be continuing to update this as I learn more.
1637
July 13
First record of enslaved Natives in New England.
Capt. William Pierce, in the Salem ship Desire, set sail with 17 captured Native Americans to sell into slavery in the West Indies.
Feb
1638
FEB 26
First record of enslaved Africans in New England.
Seven months later, Capt. Pierce returned from Providence to Boston with "cotton, tobacco and negroes etc".
1644
Start of the African Trade
"The year 1644 was a momentous date in the history of the New England slave trade. Before that time, Massachusetts merchants had occasionally brought in Negroes from the West Indies, but in that year Boston traders attempted to import slaves directly from Africa, when an association of businessmen sent three ships there for gold dust and Negroes."
1674
The Royal African Company is granted a monopoly on the slave trade.
Read the original
1687
1696
The Royal African Company loses their monopoly on the slave trade.
1700
As the Century Turns
"Although New England's share in the slave trade was small in the seventeenth century, her merchants had by 1700 laid the foundations of a lucrative commerce. They had already begun the triangular slave voyages and had learned that the West Indies offered the best market for Negroes. As comparatively few Negroes were brought to New England in the seventeenth century, the traders in these colonies made their profits as carriers rather than as exploiters of Negro labor."
1704
1731
As the Century Turns
Britain orders its Colony of Massachusetts to not tax or discourage the importing or exporting of enslaved Africans.
Slave Trading Lawmakers and Influencers
