Most students of Black History are familiar with the “Triangle Trade.” This term refers to the 17th and 18th century transatlantic trading route, involving Africa, the Caribbean, and British North America. Sugar cane was grown and processed in the Caribbean islands. The molasses from this processing was then shipped to Rhode Island and was the key ingredient in rum. The twice-distilled, oak-barreled rum was then exported via these same ships to West Africa to trade for African captives, who were brought back via the Middle Passage of the Atlantic Ocean to become enslaved laborers in the West Indies and the colonies of British North America.
Rhode Island’s founders and leaders considered themselves “enlightened” and founded their new colony based on religious freedom. In fact, in 1652, it was the second colony to abolish the importation of slaves; however, tragically, there was little enforcement of this law. Legions of sea-faring and land-owning merchants, and civic and religious leaders engaged in this brutal slave trading activity and became wealthy beyond their imaginations as a result. The names of these men we still see today on historic homes and street signs in Newport, such as Malbone, Banister, Wanton, Brenton, Redwood and Vernon.
In the early 1700s, Rhode Island-made rum found its place in the middle of this economic cycle as it had become the distilled spirit of choice for African slave traders, merchant mariners and pirates alike. It was cheap and plentiful (as long as the “rum men,” as they were called, could keep getting the sugar and exploit their free labor) and its distilled process ensured it traveled long distances better than fermented wines or brandy. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of rum would be sent on these long voyages, in addition to other items packed in tightly for trade.
The ships would return months later with the barrels having been replaced by captured human beings who were traded for about 200 gallons of rum per enslaved man or woman. Ironically, the import taxes on these same men and women brought to America against their will helped to build the infrastructure of roads, bridges and wharves that built Newport into a major New England port city by the mid-1700s, second in size only to Boston. Even the cobblestones we still walk on today were funded by slave labor.
At the peak of Newport’s role in the Triangle Trade, there were 22 rum distilleries right here; mostly located on the harborside wharves. Other popular rum distillery cities and towns of the time were Providence, Warwick, and Bristol. The passing of 1764 Sugar Act, one of the many taxation acts that led to the American Revolution less than a decade later, was one of the main reasons the industry faded out.
Two hundred and fifty years following the final demise of the horrific Triangle Trade, Rhode Islanders can turn the page on this dark past, yet happily, and without abusive conditions, they can still enjoy Rhode Island-made rums. Today the Ocean State boasts more than 40 breweries and distilleries, including Newport Craft Brewery & Distillery Co., makers of the famous Thomas Tew brand, named after the legendary British privateer-turned-pirate, who was nicknamed “The Rhode Island Pirate.”
Please join RISHM on Friday, February 28th at the Newport Craft Brewery & Distillery Co. from 6pm – 8pm as we look deeper into this history and learn more about our collective past while enjoying a Thomas Tew rum tasting (as well as other brews and distilled spirits) and African drum music performed by renowned djembefola artist Sidy Maïga. For tickets visit: www.rishm/events.
Charles L. Roberts is Executive Director and Founder of Rhode Island Slave History Medallions, www.rishm.org. Historian and author Fred Zilian, Ph.D. contributed to this article.
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