Online Lunch And Learn: Equine Atlantic: New England’s Horse Trade To The West Indies In The Eighteenth Century

Please join us for a virtual presentation by Dr. Charlotte Carrington-Farmer.  Dr. Carrington-Farmer is a New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (NERFC) fellow who has been conducting research at the CHS this summer.

From the late seventeenth century through to the end of the eighteenth century, countless New England vessels braved the eighteenth-century Atlantic in a quest for profit by delivering horses to the sugar colonies in the West Indies. In this virtual talk, Dr. Carrington-Farmer will explore why New England emerged as a breeding ground for horses, and how it came to dominate the equine trade to the sugar colonies. New England’s horse breeding and trading success were tied to the wider currents of rival empire building through the markets for sugar and slaves.  

In 1732, the anonymous pamphlet, The British empire in America lamented that the British sugar colonies “will soon be reduc’d to a Condition too wretched to be name, and an End be put to the British Empire in America.” Others, ranging from Members of Parliament to merchants, described how New Englanders undermined the British sugar colonies of Barbados and Jamaica through readily providing the French and Dutch colonies with horses. New England merchants were not concerned with upholding the empire; they simply wanted to make money by shipping horses to wherever they would make the most profit. Building upon the so-called “animal turn in history,” this presentation will reimagine Atlantic history through centring non-human animal experiences.

This virtual program is free. To secure a spot, register now. You will receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link attached, and we will send you a reminder on the day of the program.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Busa, Public Programs and Special Events Coordinator, at jennifer_busa@chs.org.