Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North | |
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Directed by | Katrina Browne Alla Kovgan Jude Ray |
Written by | Katrina Browne Alla Kovgan |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North is a 2008 documentary film directed by Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan, and Jude Ray.
The film focuses on the descendants of the DeWolf family, a prominent slave trading family who settled in Bristol, Rhode Island, who trafficked Africans from 1769 to 1820, and the legacy of the slave trade in the Northern United States. The film follows ten family members as they retrace the triangle trade starting at Linden Place in Bristol, Rhode Island, the hometown of the DeWolfs. The family has been prominent in local businesses and banking, as academics, in the local Episcopal and other institutions, and organizing the Bristol Fourth of July Parade. The film goes with the family to Ghana, where the slaves were purchased and where they meet with current residents, and to Cuba, where James DeWolf owned three sugar and coffee plantations in the 19th century. [1]
The film competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. [2] It was shown on PBS TV and nominated for an Emmy Award.
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Providence, 20 miles (32 km) south of Fall River, Massachusetts, 74 miles (119 km) south of Boston, and 180 miles (290 km) northeast of New York City. It is known as a New England summer resort and is famous for its historic mansions and its rich sailing history. The city has a population of about 25,000 residents.
William Bradford was a physician, lawyer, and politician, serving as United States Senator from Rhode Island and deputy governor of the state.
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat building and related marine industries, manufacturing, and tourism. The Bristol Warren Regional School District manages the unified school system for Bristol and the neighboring town of Warren. Prominent communities include Portuguese-Americans, mostly Azoreans, and Italian-Americans.
Cephas Thompson was a successful, largely self-taught, early nineteenth-century itinerant portrait painter in the United States. He was born, died, and lived most of his life in Middleborough, Massachusetts, but traveled extensively down the Atlantic coast and lived far from home for months at a time while pursuing his career as a portraitist.
The history of Rhode Island is an overview of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the state of Rhode Island from pre-colonial times to the present.
James DeWolf was an American slave trader and politician. He served as a state legislator for a total of nearly 25 years, and in the 1820s served as a United States senator from Rhode Island. Along with trading in slaves, DeWolf invested in sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba and became the wealthiest man in his state. By the end of his life, he was said to be the second-richest person in the entire United States. During his lifetime, his name was usually written "James D'Wolf".
Christopher Ellery was a United States senator from Rhode Island. Born in Newport, he graduated from Yale College in 1787, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newport. He was clerk of the superior court of Newport County from 1794 to 1798.
Samuel Pomeroy Colt was an industrialist and politician from Rhode Island. He formed the United States Rubber Company, later called Uniroyal, the largest rubber company in the nation.
Joseph A. Opala, OR is an American historian noted for establishing the "Gullah Connection," the historical links between the indigenous people of the West African nation of Sierra Leone and the Gullah people of the Low Country region of South Carolina and Georgia in the United States.
Man on Wire is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, To Reach the Clouds, released in paperback with the title Man on Wire. The title of the film is taken from the police report that led to the arrest of Petit, whose performance lasted for almost an hour. The film is crafted like a heist film, presenting rare footage of the preparations for the event and still photographs of the walk, alongside re-enactments and present-day interviews with the participants, including Barry Greenhouse, an insurance executive who served as the inside man.
Longfield is an historic house at 1200 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Linden Place is a Federal-style mansion located in Bristol, Rhode Island. It was built in 1810 by slave trader, merchant, privateer and ship owner General George DeWolf and was designed by architect, Russell Warren. The mansion now operates as a historic house museum.
John DeWolf was an American slave-trader, farmer, and justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from May 1818 to May 1819, appointed from Bristol, Rhode Island.
Mark Anthony DeWolf was an American merchant and slave trader.
The DeWolf family is a prominent Canadian and American family that traces its roots to Balthazar DeWolf. The family's lineage can be traced back to Balthazar DeWolf, who was born in 1643 in the Netherlands and later immigrated to North America.
Takaya: Lone Wolf is a documentary film which premiered on CBC’s TheNature of Things in October 2019. The film documents the life of Takaya, a wild lone wolf, and the development of his unique relationship with conservation photographer Cheryl Alexander.
Rhode Island Slave History Medallions, or RISHM, is a statewide non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. RISHM's mission is to raise public awareness of Rhode Island’s dominant role in the institution of slavery. RISHM marks historic sites and homes with a bronze plaque, or medallion, in communities around the state connected to slavery, to commemorate lives of the enslaved, and open a dialogue for racial understanding and healing.
The Sally (1764) was an 18th century Rhode Island brigantine slave ship launched from Providence and destined for the western-most coast of Africa. Like many voyages from the state at this time, the ship was charted by Nicholas Brown and Company, a merchant firm founded by the prominent Brown family. This same company, and the successful mercantile family, was the main benefactor in the foundation of Brown University in 1764. The story of The Sally rose to infamy upon return – and for centuries, thereafter – due to high mortality rates following a slave revolt and widespread health issues. Of the 196 captives on board, more than 109 were either murdered by captain, Esek Hopkins, and crew, died from diseases and starvation, or took their own lives. Within the state of Rhode Island, The Sally serves an important historical symbol of the atrocities of northern slavery, as well as the legacy of slave labor within prominent American institutions, namely Brown University.
John DeWolf, also known as John D'Wolf, John D'Wolfe, John DeWolfe, John DeWolf II, Norwest John or Nor'west John, was a sea captain, merchant, and businessman known for his role in the maritime fur trade in the Pacific Northwest, and his influence on the Russian-American Company in Novo-Arkhangelsk in Russian America, and for being an uncle of Herman Melville. Melville was inspired by DeWolf's stories, including an encounter with a large whale that contributed to Melville's Moby-Dick, which Melville describes explicitly in Moby Dick, "Chapter XLV: The Affidavit". "Captain D'Wolf" is also described in the same chapter. John DeWolf was the first American known to have travelled overland across Siberia, and probably the first person ever to circumnavigate the globe by way of crossing Asia overland.