Sally (1764 ship)

[1] The story of The Sally rose to infamy upon return – and for centuries, thereafter – due to high mortality rates following a slave revolt and widespread health issues.

[3] Within the state of Rhode Island, The Sally serves an important historical symbol of the atrocities of northern slavery, as well as the legacy of slave labor within prominent American institutions, namely Brown University.

Hopkins kept a detailed inventory log of the contents, including but not limited 40 handguns, 40 shackles, 7 swivel guns, 30 loaves of bread, and 1,800 onions.

[1] While the remaining slaves were either auctioned in Antigua or brought back to Rhode Island, the voyage was publicly perceived as a failure, forcing the Brown brothers to extend apologies to many of their investors.

[8] Threat of resistance forced chartered ships to carry extra crew members and supplies, evidenced by the extensive cargo log kept by Hopkins.

While generally ignored by historical accounts, the revolts of these enslaved peoples, from captivity, throughout Middle Passage, and into the New World offered a symbol of fortitude among slaves long before abolitionist efforts began.

As recently as 2021, the university's undergraduate student body voted in favor of reparations for descendants of the enslaved people instrumental in Brown's construction.

This student outcry is not the first time Brown has been forced to reckon with violence of its past; in 2006, it became the first university to public a report that dealt with historical ties to slavery.