William Vernon - Newport Triangle Trade

Newport Triangle Trade

The Vernon brothers, William and Samuel, made a name for themselves in Newport by successfully utilizing the "triangle trade." Their first ship, commanded by Captain John Godfrey, was ironically named the Olive Branch. The brothers also owned the Hare, a ship whose participation in the American slave trade is well documented. Incredible profits were made by purchasing slaves in Africa with rum from the colonies, selling those slaves in the West Indies, using those profits to purchase molasses from those ports before buying more rum in the colonies, continuing the triangular cycle of trade.

The Vernons are known as the first Newport merchants to sell African slaves directly to the southern colonies, instead of exclusively in the West Indies. Their ships returning from the West Indies offloaded slaves in South Carolina in exchange for barrels of rice destined for markets in New England. Their first sale to the southern colonies was made in Charleston in 1755. These brothers serve as a perfect example of the pivotal role many northern colonies played in the American slave trade.