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Evidence of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum’s transatlantic slave trade artifact collection contains rare tangible evidence of a cruel period in history. These objects document an era that history books all too often ignore.

More than thirty years of research, conservation, and exhibition have brought us to this online virtual exhibition.

We have selected twenty-seven objects from our collection to chronicle the history of the trade.

Introduction


Don Alvaro King of Kongo, 1642.

Map of the Bight of Benin, 1780

Bell

Ship's Bell, 1699

Iron Bar Stock

Trade Iron Bars, c. 1700

Book

Slave deck of the Brookes, 1788

Shackles (bilboes) c. 1700

Wood Spoon

Spoon from the Brothers, 1858

Copper Cauldron c. 1700

Rat Bone

Letter from a slave ship, 1819

Blunderbuss Barrel

Blunderbuss barrels c. 1700

Letter from Key West, 1827

Cape Corse Castle, 1727

Artifact Drawing - Cutlass

Cutlass c. 1700

Mirror Frames c. 1700

Trade Beads

Glass Beads c. 1700

Elephant Tusk c. 1700

Documents

A Royal Directive, 1673

Dispatches concerning the Peter Mowell, 1861

Manillas (date unknown)

Artifact Drawing - North Cannon

Iron Cannon c. 1700

Grenades c. 1700

Slave ship, Vigilante, 1822

Print

Schooner Josefa Maracayera, 1822

Scale Weights c. 1700

Basin

Pewter Basin c. 1700

Captives aboard the Wildfire, 1860

The Florida Slave Trade Documentation and Education Center has been made possible by grants from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
© 2023 by Mel Fisher Maritime Museum | 200 Greene Street | Key West, Florida 33040