Sailing Ships, Sugar, and Salt
During the 1800s, the Golden Age of Sail, over 165 large wooden ships were built in two shipyards near this museum. While ships were built for many purposes, from transporting gypsum to ferrying passengers, the growth in ship-building was driven in part by the demand for timber and sugar from plantations in the Caribbean. Locally-built ships would carry salt fish to the West Indies, pick up sugar and its by-products (molasses and rum) to transport to England, and there load up on manufactured goods and salt for preserving the fish that fed sugar plantation workers. This cycle or Triangular Trade was built on the Transatlantic Slave Trade that saw over 12 million women, men, and children captured, enslaved, and shipped from Africa to the Americas on 36,000 voyages before this transport was halted in 1891.
At first, British-made, but later North American ships were used for the transport of enslaved people. Before the American Revolution in 1776, about 1,000 voyages left Rhode Island to purchase and sell enslaved people. Ship-building shifted to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. The schooner and sloop were preferred for speedy cross-Atlantic transport of enslaved people. While the larger brig was able to carry more people, its slower speed resulted in increased deaths and thus lower profit for the ship-owners. The last known slave ship to transport Africans into the U.S., the schooner Clotilda, which carried 110 enslaved people, was captained by Nova Scotian-born William Foster in 1860.
After the abolition of slavery in British colonies, Nova Scotia increased trade with French and Spanish colonies. Sugar from Cuba was imported to Nova Scotia and re-exported to the United Kingdom until the early 1900s. Locally built ships were lost at sea near Savannah, Cuba, The Turks, Mauritius, Brazil, Santo Domingo, Saint Thomas, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Delagoa Bay, all of which had economies connected to the labour of enslaved and indentured people.
Slavery made sugar cheaper and the cheaper it was produced, the more central it became to the British diet. In England, per person sugar consumption increased from 4 pounds in 1700 to 90 pounds in 1900. Four-fifths of the sugar consumed came from British and French colonies in the West Indies, produced by the labour of enslaved and indentured people.
When the Suez Canal was completed in 1869 and the world turned to iron- and steel-hulled sailing ships and steamships, the age of wooden ships declined. By 1895 local builders were out of the big-ship business, although construction of fishing schooners and coasters continued for some years. Many local workers skilled in sail making, wood shaping, etc., were put out of work, and in the next hundred years the population of Newport Landing decreased by about 80%. Relics of the ship-building period can be found in the grand houses in this area, in oral histories, and in artifacts in this museum.
At first, British-made, but later North American ships were used for the transport of enslaved people. Before the American Revolution in 1776, about 1,000 voyages left Rhode Island to purchase and sell enslaved people. Ship-building shifted to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. The schooner and sloop were preferred for speedy cross-Atlantic transport of enslaved people. While the larger brig was able to carry more people, its slower speed resulted in increased deaths and thus lower profit for the ship-owners. The last known slave ship to transport Africans into the U.S., the schooner Clotilda, which carried 110 enslaved people, was captained by Nova Scotian-born William Foster in 1860.
After the abolition of slavery in British colonies, Nova Scotia increased trade with French and Spanish colonies. Sugar from Cuba was imported to Nova Scotia and re-exported to the United Kingdom until the early 1900s. Locally built ships were lost at sea near Savannah, Cuba, The Turks, Mauritius, Brazil, Santo Domingo, Saint Thomas, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Delagoa Bay, all of which had economies connected to the labour of enslaved and indentured people.
Slavery made sugar cheaper and the cheaper it was produced, the more central it became to the British diet. In England, per person sugar consumption increased from 4 pounds in 1700 to 90 pounds in 1900. Four-fifths of the sugar consumed came from British and French colonies in the West Indies, produced by the labour of enslaved and indentured people.
When the Suez Canal was completed in 1869 and the world turned to iron- and steel-hulled sailing ships and steamships, the age of wooden ships declined. By 1895 local builders were out of the big-ship business, although construction of fishing schooners and coasters continued for some years. Many local workers skilled in sail making, wood shaping, etc., were put out of work, and in the next hundred years the population of Newport Landing decreased by about 80%. Relics of the ship-building period can be found in the grand houses in this area, in oral histories, and in artifacts in this museum.
