Here at the foot of the stairs, you will see two large 18th century maps hanging on the wall. These maps, dating from the 1760s, are a useful way to learn how people like John Brown saw the world in the late 18th century. For example, notice that at this time, the western part of what is now the United States becomes indistinct, fading into nothingness, and is labeled “Parts Unknown.”
The Browns prospered by sending trading vessels all around the world. Ships were sent down the East Coast to the Southern colonies, to England, and to China, (notice how well the mapmaker, and therefore merchants and travelers, knew this region at the time John Brown was entering the China trade). John Brown has the distinction of sending the first ship from Rhode Island to trade in China in 1787. He also sent ships to the coast of Africa. Throughout the 1700s, merchant and slave ship owners, captains, and crews set out to sea from Rhode Island each year in what historians call the “Triangle Trade.” Newport was the center of this trade before the Revolution and Bristol gained prominence after the war, but Providence played a role as well. The state’s most profitable export was rum, which was traded on the west coast of Africa for enslaved people. Rhode Island crews forced men, women and children across the Atlantic Ocean in what is known as the “Middle Passage.” Most were taken to huge sugar plantations in the Caribbean, and were traded for molasses in order to make more rum back home. Some were brought back to Rhode Island. Later, we will learn more about a particular slaving venture, that of the Salley, in which all four of the Brown brothers participated.
Throughout the museum, you will see evidence of the many business and trading ventures in which John Brown was involved, such as fine export ware from China and hurricane lamps, which would have been lit by spermaceti candles like those manufactured by the Browns. What other pieces do you see that might be linked to the Browns’ trade and business?
