Warren's Waterfront
07 August 2014 -- 219/365
Warren, Rhode Island
The waterfront area in Warren, along Rhode Island's east bay, has played a vital role in the region's economy dating back to the pre-colonial era. The section shown in today's photo was originally part of Sowam, a summertime village of the Wampanoag Confederacy. In fact, when Roger Williams - founder of Rhode Island - fled persecution by the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts in 1636, he landed in Sowam and there met the indian Sachem Massasoit. Sowam was a fishing village, although the Wampanoag were migratory in that era. King Phillip's War destroyed most of the villages, both Indian and British Colonial, in Rhode Island, and the Wampanoag never truly recovered. The area became Warren, but the waterfront remained vital to commerce. Into the mid-to-late 18th century, the area was heavily involved in the slave trade. Ships owned by the Browns and the Bowens would sail from here and neighboring Bristol, making port on the Ivory Coast in Africa. They would trade Rhode Island Rum, said to be the highest quality rum in the Colonies, for African slaves. The trip from Africa returned to Warren and Bristol where the slaves were either auctioned and sent south or were boarded onto ships bound for the West Indies where they were traded for molasses. The entire venture became known as "The Triangle Trade" where molasses was distilled into rum, the rum traded for slaves, and the slaves traded for more molasses. As Edward Rutledge of South Carolina would lament in the 2nd Continental Congress, "New England doesn't keep slaves, but they are willing to be considerable carriers of slaves to others." Today, the waterfront is home to pleasure craft and fishing boats, but its role in the economic welfare of Warren is as strong today as it ever was.
Post processing started with a neutral filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, and boost white. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
