Middle Passage Port Marker - Perth Amboy, NJ
Overview
The Middle Passage port marker in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, stands as a solemn reminder of the city’s significant yet painful role in the trans-Atlantic human trade. Designated a “Site of Memory” by the UNESCO Slave Route Project in 2019, Perth Amboy was a principal port in Eastern New Jersey where enslaved Africans were disembarked during the colonial era.
Historical Context
Perth Amboy, originally part of the Dutch settlement of New Netherland, was well-suited as a maritime port of entry. The city, which became the colonial capital of East Jersey, was a key location for the arrival of ships involved in the trans-Atlantic human trade. Traders often chose Perth Amboy as a disembarkation point to avoid tariffs imposed by other colonies, as New Jersey did not impose such taxes on the importation of captive Africans.
In 1790, the enslaved African population in New Jersey was recorded at 11,423, highlighting the extent of slavery in the state. Despite the growing movement towards abolition in the Northern states, New Jersey was the last to adopt gradual emancipation.
The marker not only serves as a tribute to those who suffered and perished during this dark chapter in history but also as a beacon of awareness and reflection for future generations.
Inscription
ENSLAVEMENT AND THE TRANS-ATLANTIC HUMAN TRADE
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African slavery in New Jersey began with the early Dutch settlement named New Netherland. Ideally suited as a maritime port of entry, Perth Amboy, the colonial capital of East Jersey, was an arrival location for ships during the trans-Atlantic human trade. Because the colony of New Jersey imposed no tariff on the importation of captive Africans, many traders disembarked their human cargo at this location, avoiding taxation while supplying buyers in New Jersey and other colonies.
In 1790, New Jersey’s enslaved African population was 11,423. It was the last Northern state to adopt gradual emancipation in 1804. By 1854, the Eagleswood section in Perth Amboy became a major station on the Underground Railroad. Slavery was not completely abolished until 1865 by the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In 2019, Perth Amboy was designated a “Site of Memory” by the UNESCO Slave Route Project.
ENSLAVEMENT AND THE TRANS-ATLANTIC HUMAN TRADE
Near this site enslaved Africans disembarked at Perth Amboy, the principal port in eastern New Jersey. During colonial times, numerous slave ships such as the Catherine, William, Africa and Sally were present in the Raritan Bay, sending their captives upon the city pier—now the present-day site of the Historic Ferry Slip. In one day alone, the Catherine arrived with 240 enslaved people, leaving 17 dead at sea, and depositing 130 survivors in Perth Amboy.
In Africa, traders captured approximately 24 million children, women and men, half of whom died on the march to coastal prisons or within the prisons awaiting transport across the Atlantic. Chained and tightly packed in dark, filthy, stifling hot cargo holds, 12 million endured ocean crossings that often took months. During these voyages, known as the Middle Passage, 2 million people died from disease, malnutrition, dehydration, abuse and suicide.
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