Established as a port city for the colony of Maryland as early as 1640s Georgetown was a hub not only for the tobacco trade but also the slave trade. Taverns were the site of slave auctions and housed enslaved workers in basement pens.
In addition to the tobacco trade Georgetown became deeply entwined with the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas to labor on plantations including those producing tobacco in Maryland.
Georgetown's port served as a point of entry for enslaved individuals who were sold at auction to plantation owners throughout the region. The practice of slave auctions was not only commonplace but also normalized with auctions held openly in public spaces including taverns.
Taverns which served as social and commercial hubs in colonial America were often utilized as venues for slave auctions. These establishments not only facilitated the buying and selling of enslaved people but also housed them in cramped and dehumanizing conditions such as basement pens before they were sold or transported to plantations.
The juxtaposition of the tobacco and slave trades in Georgetown highlights the interconnectedness of economic prosperity and human exploitation during the colonial era. While the tobacco trade brought wealth and prosperity to the region's elite it was built on the backs of enslaved laborers who were forcibly brought to America and subjected to inhumane treatment.
A 90 minute walk through Georgetown Beginning at the 1796 site of the Old Georgetown market (Dean & Deluca - 3276 M Street NW); exploring the history and commerce -- including enslavement practices -- of the Port of George Towne. We walk north on Wisconsin to Volta place west to the front gates of Georgetown University. This archeology of memory considers selected sites in order to understand how a history of enslavement -- hidden submerged erased -- persists to this day Georgetown. One example: Georgetown's Healy Hall tower is iconic Georgetown tourism; it is also named after Patrick Healy a (legally) black man who was known as Georgetown's "second founder."
Event Venue
Blue Bottle Coffee, Potomac Street Northwest, Washington, DC, USA, United States
USD 0.00