Maine and the West Indies Trade

Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

Seth Goldstein; Recorded February 22, 2024 - Historian Seth Goldstein discussed the economic ties between Maine and the luxury-producing plantations of the West Indies and explored the various commodities, such as lumber, draft animals, and salt cod, that Maine supplied to West Indian plantations. Concurrently, enslaved Africans in the Caribbean labored in horrific conditions to produce sugar, molasses, rum, and other goods that were consumed in Maine. Seth explained how the West Indies Trade was significant to the forced migration of enslaved Africans to Northern New England and how the West Indies Trade left a lasting mark on the city of Portland and the state of Maine.