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You need to go to the search on slave ships on Yahoo and you will find you are absolutely dead, completely, without question wrong, wrong, wrong. This happened very much in the New England shipping industry, especially after they found out the slave trade was more lucrative than even whaling.

Also if you live in that area, I suggest you just trot yo' little peapicking heart down to Mystic Seaport Museum and see the replica of the slave ship they have there. Read also if you dare the fact that these "Yankee Clippers" were designed to carry the most human cargo based of what they had learned from the British. These ships were designed after the Revolutionary War and slavery had been outlawed.

Both I and AnAmericanMother believe slavery existed in the South because we are willing to study history and believe the facts, not what we want to believe.

If you don't believe that the New England shipping business was the biggest player in bringing basically 90% of their cargo to Cuba and surrounding areas and 10% of their cargo to be sold in the South which had a flourishing slave trade, by any chance do you believe in the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny.

Read, research and learn.

I had always thought the "clippers" were primarily designed for the tea trade, to get the tea back to New England ASAP.

But I went looking and found this article on "Baltimore Clippers" and, lo and behold,

Baltimore Clippers were often the ship of choice for slavers, smugglers, and West Indian pirate craft.
The use and manufacturing of Baltimore Clippers declined not because of their obsolescence but due to the reputation they gained. One part of this reputation was gained by being the ship of choice for South American raiding. Baltimore became one of the main supply ports for both the Spanish and revolutionary forces. With this reputation many respectable Baltimoreans backed away from any enterprises involving South America and indirectly the Baltimore Clipper.
Another reason for this disapproval was their use in the slave trade. When the slave trade was prohibited in 1808, the Clippers went into use as shipping vessels for the enslaved human cargo. Therefore, they were looked down upon for both their use in this controversial issue and for going against the laws of the United States. Thus the Baltimore Clippers faded away to be replaced by larger ships capable of carrying greater cargoes with the same speed that the Clippers were so famous for.

You learn something every day!

Both I and AnAmericanMother believe slavery existed in the South because we are willing to study history and believe the facts, not what we want to believe.

Did you really have to study history before you believed slavery actually existed in the south? Thats amazing.

If you don't believe that the New England shipping business was the biggest player in bringing basically 90% of their cargo to Cuba and surrounding areas and 10% of their cargo to be sold in the South which had a flourishing slave trade...

The federal Slave Trade Act of 1794, prohibited ships destined to transport slaves to any foreign country from outfitting in American ports. If Rhode Islanders were dropping off their human cargos in Cuba, then they were doing so in violation of US law.

In 1790, the first census showed there were 757,000 blacks in the United States, about 20% of the population. Between 1709 and 1807 records show Rhode Island slavers brought back 107,000 african slaves. Even without substracting the 17 years of slave trade between 1790 and 1807, its quite clear that Rhode Island's contribution a by proxy New England's, did not consitute anything approaching even a majority of the American slave trade.