US family finds traces of slave-trade past in Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

Mar 31, 4:04 PM EDT
US family finds traces of slave-trade past in Cuba
By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press Writer

http://hosted.ap.org.nyud.net:8090/photos/C/cb2ea916-ce0c-429b-96e0-51a4ca023bd3-big.jpg

In this photo taken March 27, 2010, Katrina Browne, left, who
made a documentary of her ancestors' rum-for-slaves business,
and his cousin James DeWolf Perry VI visit an exhibition at
Africa's House museum in Havana. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

LA MADRUGA, Cuba (AP) -- James DeWolf Perry VI's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather used African slaves to grow coffee on this rocky hillside outside Havana, and to him its thorny weeds and small sugar plots feel haunted.

"Do you feel the ghost of James DeWolf out here?" asks Katrina Browne, Perry's distant cousin.

"Yes," he replies, drawing out the word in a long, awkward breath.

Both are descendants of the DeWolfs of Bristol, Rhode Island, who became the biggest slave-trading family in U.S. history, shipping well over 11,000 Africans to the Americas between 1769 and 1820. It was a business that made the family patriarch, James DeWolf, America's second-wealthiest man.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/photos/C/cb2ea916-ce0c-429b-96e0-51a4ca023bd3.html?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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http://www.projo.com.nyud.net:8090/extra/2006/slavery/day6/images/day6-dewolf-bros.jpg

Journal photo / Frieda Squires
James DeWolf, left, served as a senator while he profited from the
trade; William, center, ran the Mount-Hope Insurance Company that
insured the slave traders' ships and Charles, right, the oldest
son, was the family's financial consultant.

Living Off the Trade:
Bristol and the DeWolfs

Friday, March 17, 2006
BY PAUL DAVIS
Journal staff writer

Rhode Island outlawed slave trading in 1787, but it didn't stop the trafficking. Almost half of all of Rhode Island's slave voyages occurred after trading was outlawed. By the end of the 18th century, Bristol surpassed Newport as the busiest slave port in Rhode Island.

More:
http://www.projo.com/extra/2006/slavery/day6/

[flamingdem]

1. When things open up many US citizens will find out about family ties in Cuba, I think nt

[EFerrari]

2. Am I mistaken in thinking the DeWolf family has done what amounts to

an attempt at familial reparations?

Maybe I'm thinking of this book because this is where I first heard the name:

The Slave Ship
October 16, 2007

Marcus Rediker talked about his book The Slave Ship: A Human History, published by Viking. In his book he documents the history of the American and British slave ships of the 18th century that transported millions of enslaved people across the Atlantic. Mr. Rediker showed many slides during his presentation. He responded to questions from members of the audience.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/200012-1

(Transcript at link)