- Lithographed and published by Currier & Ives
Massachusetts is at the center of American maritime history, the U.S.S. Constitution, the Salem National Historical Park, the whaling community of New Bedford.
The sea also played a significant role in the history of African-Americans. It was a source of misery on the dangerous passage from Africa to the new world. Some Massachusetts merchants participated directly in the Atlantic slave trade. Some grew rich through close economic connections with sugar plantations in the West Indies. Many grand colonial mansions were built with profits from Jamaica, Antigua or Barbados.
By the nineteenth century slavery had ended in Massachusetts and the commonwealth became an important center of the abolitionist movement. Now seaport communities were an avenue of escape for fugitive slaves and a source of employment. This was particularly true of New Bedford. Once America’s wealthiest city, it had a business-elite that included many Quakers who felt that slavery was immoral. The masters of whaling ships were willing to employ African-Americans. Frederick Douglass began his Massachusetts experience in this maritime community.
Although opportunities remained scarce well into the twentieth century, some African-Americans rose to significant heights. The unique successes of Paul Cuffe may surprise and inspire today.
While Massachusetts has a proud maritime history some of it has been hidden. Maritime fortunes, based in part on slavery, helped found some of our most hallowed institutions. It is a fascinating and neglected story.