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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

From Slavery to Freedom: Friends Indeed

Quakers William Rotch, Sr. and William Rotch, Jr. were among the wealthiest ship owners in New Bedford. The family was involved in anti-slavery activities since the 1780’s


Rotch-Duff-Jones House, New Bedford. Rotch family members seemed to combine wealth with a social conscience. Destination New Bedford
Rotch-Duff-Jones House, New Bedford. Rotch family members seemed to combine wealth with a social conscience.
 -  Destination New Bedford
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“Thou queries how friends can be active in establishing the new form of government which so much favors slavery...it is evident to me that it is founded on Slavery and that is on Blood.”

- Quaker merchant William Rotch Sr. on the proposed United States Constitution, 1787

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Friendship
William Rotch, Sr. won a court case for paying a slave named Prince directly for his service on the whaling vessel Friendship. The owner had demanded the pay. He also bought up the indentures of black servants and freed them after whaling voyages. “My heart is warmed toward those poor blacks,” he wrote, “and I feel sometimes willing to spend and be spent if I could contribute to their encouragement.

The Ship Hope
William Rotch, Jr, and son-in-law Samuel Rodman took up the antislavery cause. Rotch accused the owner and master of the ship Hope of making a voyage to Africa three months after Massachusetts had banned the slave trade in 1788. He also documented incidents of cruelty to slaves and crew on other New England ships. He compared the slave revolt on Haiti to “the American struggle for liberty.”

J.M. W. Turner’s painting “Slave Ship”

Slave Ship . . .

Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard.

Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. -  Smithsonian

Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard. Nineteenth century model of a whaling ship, crafted in Martha’s Vineyard.

Conditions on Whaling Ships
“Many whaling skippers, who on shore passed as pious Friends or church members, were cold-blooded heartless fiends on the quarterdeck,” according to historian Samuel Eliot Morison. Still some captains had a reputation for fairness and offered advancement to black crew members.

William Rotch's Complaint

William Rotch’s complaint . . .