I'm especially intrigued by this for ancestral reasons: my Sturgis forebears included Boston-based merchants who were heavily involved in the Pacific trade. This is how I come to have a Spanish great-great-grandmother, Josefina Borrás, whose father was a Spanish official in the Philippines. Knowing this, I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of them at some point had a connection to the Atlantic slave trade. My father (d. 2008) always strenuously denied the possibility, but I'm still curious.
I'm not a direct descendant of the William Sturgis for whom the Sturgis Library is named, but I'd bet good money that one of his close relatives was an antecedent of mine. (My sister and her husband are the genealogy freaks in the family. I'll ask them.)
This is not really a new story. If you look at town histories like Paine's History of Harwich, you will see references to slaves on the Cape. Shebnah Rich's book on Truro, also cites the presence of slaves in that town. Don Trayser's history of Barnstable does this as well. Brewster acknowledges that Captain Benjamin Bangs was a slaver, the jury is still out on Elijah Cobb. Our history is what it is. While some may want to avoid the issue, the stain of slavery is there. We should be open in talking about it and be willing to recognize that however some might want to spin it, this country carries a legacy of people in bondage and that institutional racism is real.
Fascinating stuff. I got low-key addicted to Ancestry.com after watching Finding Your Roots on PBS - wondering (dreading) if my family had a slavery connection. Well, be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes. I discovered my 14th great grandfather, Admiral John Hawkins, who according to Wikipedia "pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. He is considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade, selling enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies in the late 16th century." Knowing that every cell in my body contains fragments of this man's DNA has driven me to try and atone for his monstrous crimes against humanity.
I'm especially intrigued by this for ancestral reasons: my Sturgis forebears included Boston-based merchants who were heavily involved in the Pacific trade. This is how I come to have a Spanish great-great-grandmother, Josefina Borrás, whose father was a Spanish official in the Philippines. Knowing this, I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of them at some point had a connection to the Atlantic slave trade. My father (d. 2008) always strenuously denied the possibility, but I'm still curious.
I'm not a direct descendant of the William Sturgis for whom the Sturgis Library is named, but I'd bet good money that one of his close relatives was an antecedent of mine. (My sister and her husband are the genealogy freaks in the family. I'll ask them.)
This is not really a new story. If you look at town histories like Paine's History of Harwich, you will see references to slaves on the Cape. Shebnah Rich's book on Truro, also cites the presence of slaves in that town. Don Trayser's history of Barnstable does this as well. Brewster acknowledges that Captain Benjamin Bangs was a slaver, the jury is still out on Elijah Cobb. Our history is what it is. While some may want to avoid the issue, the stain of slavery is there. We should be open in talking about it and be willing to recognize that however some might want to spin it, this country carries a legacy of people in bondage and that institutional racism is real.
Fascinating stuff. I got low-key addicted to Ancestry.com after watching Finding Your Roots on PBS - wondering (dreading) if my family had a slavery connection. Well, be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes. I discovered my 14th great grandfather, Admiral John Hawkins, who according to Wikipedia "pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. He is considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade, selling enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies in the late 16th century." Knowing that every cell in my body contains fragments of this man's DNA has driven me to try and atone for his monstrous crimes against humanity.