KEY WEST & THE SLAVE TRADE:

Lectures in Recognition of the 200th Anniversary of the US Abolition of the Slave Trade

By Corey Malcom, Director of Archaeology, Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

The lecture series will be held on Saturday evenings in the courtyard of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum.

A pre-lecture reception will begin at 7:30pm, followed by the lecture at 8:00pm.

After the lecture, Malcom will have artifacts available for viewing and will be on hand to answer questions.

Two hundred years ago, the United States made it illegal to carry people into its territories as slaves. At last, the cruel, unforgivable nature of the trade in human beings and its accompanying slave ships was formally recognized as immoral and unsupportable. But what was the slave trade? How did slave ships operate? What effect did abolition really have? Though Key West was never a slave trading port, it was affected in many ways by the trade and is the home to many important resources relating to the subject. In a series of four lectures inspired by this anniversary, Corey Malcom, Director of Archaeology at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, will present highlights from his research into the history and archaeology of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, especially those with connections to Key West. The lectures will be accompanied by exhibitions of rare and important artifacts and documents relating to each particular subject.

APRIL 26, 2008, 8:00 PM
MEL FISHER MUSEUM COURTYARD:

THE WILDFIRE, WILLIAM, AND BOGOTA

In the Spring and Summer of 1860, three American slave ships illegally sailing to Cuba were captured by the US Navy. The seized vessels, each with a cargo of nearly 500 people, were brought to Key West. There, the liberated African refugees were given shelter and medical assistance. The majority of these people were taken to Liberia to begin life anew. Sadly, many were quite ill and died at Key West. They were buried in graves along today’s Higgs Beach.

MAY 16, 2008, 8:00 PM
MEL FISHER MUSEUM COURTYARD:

THE WRECK OF THE PETER MOWELL

In July of 1860, the American schooner Peter Mowell drove ashore at Lynyard Cay in the Bahamas Islands. Nearly 400 African men, women and children climbed out with their captors, having no idea where they were. They were rescued and taken to Nassau, where the crew was freed and the Africans became apprentices to citizens of the British colony. At least two of the Peter Mowell’s crew were Key Westers! The MFMHS plans to work with the government of the Bahamas to locate this important shipwreck.

FEBRUARY 23, 2008 , 7:00 PM
MEL FISHER MUSEUM COURTYARD:

THE WRECK OF THE HENRIETTA MARIE

The Henrietta Marie was a “classic” slave ship, sailing in a circuit from London to West Africa to the Caribbean, when it was wrecked in the summer of 1700. The site was discovered in 1972 by Mel Fisher, and it has been the subject of extensive archaeological and historical research.  With its exceptionally large and diverse collection of artifacts, this shipwreck has completely revolutionized the way in which we view slave ships and slaving.

MARCH 15, 2008, 7:00 PM
MEL FISHER MUSEUM COURTYARD:

A SLAVE SHIP LETTER FROM 1819

The MFMHS has recently acquired a letter written in 1819 aboard a slave ship sailing along the African Coast. This letter outlines a persistent American involvement in the Slave Trade, even after abolition, and the changing structure of the illegal business. Through a detailed analysis of its contents, the letter unexpectedly exposes the involvement of one of Key West’s founding fathers in the illicit trade.