Frazier International History Museum Hosts A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie

(Louisville, KY) A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie offers the public an exclusive opportunity to experience the emotional reminders of the transatlantic slave trade. The Frazier International History Museum’s special traveling exhibit will illustrate the boundless endurance of the human spirit, January 26 through May 26, 2008.

The British merchant ship the Henrietta Marie sank in 1700 off the Florida Keys. Her cargo and crew were lost. Over 250 years later, archaeologists discovered the remains of the wreckage and came across many sets of shackles, leading to the realization that the Henrietta Marie was a slave ship.

To this day, the Henrietta Marie is the only excavated slave ship found in the Americas to have sunk during its actual slaving activities. As such it is replete with artifacts that document the notorious voyage from Africa to the Americas, known as the “Middle Passage.” The exhibit provides emotional reminders of slave trade through stories of pride, courage, strength, and survival.

A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie is an influential and powerful exhibit, offering the opportunity to witness over 90 original artifacts including the shackles found on the ship. Guests who tour the exhibit will have the chance to try on replicas of the shackles and experience how they felt.

Artifacts on display also include surgical instruments, cannonballs, ship parts, and tankards from the wreckage of the Henrietta Marie. Museum guests will be able to observe a scale replica of a slave-trader’s office and a merchant slave ship to learn more about the slave trade process and the profits gained by selling human lives. Visitors can view glass beads and pewter bowls that the ship’s crew would use to trade for slaves.

A vital piece of the exhibit is learning stories of slaves who found courage and determination, even while experiencing inhumane treatment.

“We are very pleased to have this exhibit at the Frazier. For some people, this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience something so emotionally charged, and to catch a glimpse of this difficult period of history. The Henrietta Marie tells a vital and painful story through her artifacts,” said Dr. Madeleine Burnside, executive director of the Frazier International History Museum.

The exhibit will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m.

About Frazier International History Museum
In partnership with the Royal Armouries (Britain’s oldest national museum), The Frazier Museum covers 1,000 years of history. The priceless collection is housed in a 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art museum in downtown Louisville’s historic Doerhoefer building. The Frazier brings history to life every day through live interpretations by costumed interpreters, multimedia presentations, educational programming and hands-on learning. The Frazier Museum is the only museum to have a partnership with the Royal Armouries, making it the only museum of its kind in the United States and the world. For more information about the Museum, please call (502) 412-2280 or visit www.fraziermuseum.org.