1. Myths of the “Slave Tunnel” Siham Abed

2. The Browns and the Slave Trade  Not major slave traders  By Mercantile Elite standards  1736 James Brown dispatched Mary  Returned with “several” slaves  Small-scale trade for two decades  For provisioning voyages

3. Financial Hardships  In 1759 the Wheel of Fortune was sent to Africa  Substantial financial setback  1763 the economy was suffering  Brothers needed capital  Sent Sally to Africa

4. Sally and the Aftermath  Nine month journey  109 of the 196 captives perished  Remaining 87 auctioned for ₤5 in Antigua  Second Failed Mission  Nicholas, Moses, and Joseph withdrew from trans-Atlantic slave trading from trans-Atlantic slave trading

5. John and the Slave Trade  1769 dispatched the Sutton  Ended partnership between brothers  Sponsored at least 3 more missions  Slaves as Commerce  Large risks and rewards

6. Anti-Slavery Legislation  1774 Direct importation from Africa into colony prohibited  1784 Gradual Abolition Act  1787 Slave trading was prohibited  No will or resources to prosecute  1795 John Brown Prosecuted  1 st American to be prosecuted in federal court for illegal slave trade

7. Tunnel Discovery  In 1901 Marsden J. Perry purchased the John Brown House  Began renovations  Thomas E. Manney, plumber discovered cornerstone and “tunnel”

8. The Tunnel  “Passage starts from two locations: SE and NW corners of the mansion- meeting at the SW corner.  Large enough for “two men to crawl through together- too big, it seems to me, for a drain pipe.” –Manney  Architect Alfred Stone “does not hesitate in ascribing drainage as the intended function of the conduit.”

9. Secret Tunnels  To hide involvement, tunnels were supposedly dug from the waterfront to various houses.  Later used in the Underground Railroad  No evidence

10. Practicality of Tunnel Making  Two tunnels do exist:  A bus tunnel and an abandoned train tunnel  Construction in early 20 th century:  Took weeks  Employed explosives  Heavy equipment  Many workmen -Really noticeable as people for miles around knew what was going on.

11. Tunnel Necessity  Easier and cheaper ways to sneak people around  Enough crawl space for just two people is a difficult journey uphill  Not at all cost-effective to build tunnels  Those who did notice, took no notice when bribed

12. Tunnel: Fact or Fiction?  The slave tunnel is merely an urban legend  The anecdotes can all be disproven  Far too expensive for something that was not all that necessary  No evidence survives to prove its existence today