Slavery in Westport

Tony Connors, President of the Westport Historical Society, explores the lives of five individuals who shed light on Westport’s connections to slavery. One was a Westport slave owner. Two engaged in the slave trade. Another was a West Indian boy, indentured to a Westport family, who ran away to sea. And one tried to reverse the direction of slavery by transporting free American blacks to Africa. These five sketches show little-known aspects of slavery and the slave trade as they existed – right here in Westport – in the 18th and 19th centuries. Presented October 15, 2015.