Beginning on Sunday, October 6th, there will be a special exhibit on “Brunswick and the Slave Trade” in the First Parish vestry. Prepared by the Pejepscot History Center, the exhibit is specially designed to complement our upcoming October 11^th performance of Antonio Rocha’s “The Malaga Ship: A Story of Maine and the Middle Passage.”

Among the many myths in American history, New England’s identity as free and far removed from the North American slave trade is one of the most persistent. In fact, all the New England states both had enslaved people within their borders at one time or another, and industries that depended on the economic engine of slavery.

Pejepscot History Center’s eight-panel exhibition tells a more authentic story of the Greater Brunswick region’s role in this complex history, beginning with the arrival of European colonizers. Segments include the origins of the Triangle Trade, the experience of the Middle Passage, the world of 19^th century Brunswick, the shipbuilding industry, and Malaga builder-owner (and First Parish member), Joseph Badger. The final two panels address how Brunswick’s abolition movement emerged and took hold.

The panels include maps, portraits, photography, documents, and objects from the Pejepscot History Center collection and other sources (click here for an example panel). It will be available for viewing on the evening of the Malaga performance and on Sunday mornings through October 20^th.