Colonial New England/West Indies Links
I am looking for information on families connected to the colonial trade triangle (imports to New England of finished goods; rum, lumber, pelts, slavery, molasses and sugar to England from the West Indies and New England.) I have a suspicion that some Rhode Island families that interest me engaged in the triangle trade. During the wars of the colonial period, some New Englanders were also engaged in privateering in the West Indies, especially out of Rhode Island ports. Might these two situations overlap? Where can I find FS records to prove or disprove?
Answers
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I don't know about privateering, but in British Colonial America the shipping families did a lot of traveling to and from the Caribbean. Shipping to and from Europe seems to have been reserved to European firms.
Generally a first step is to determine if your family was engaged in shipping. It seems to have been a very closed shop, with the exception of the whalers during the whaling boom period. During the boom even a farm boy who could not swim could get signed on to go whaling.
What surnames, please?
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