The Malaga Ship: Maine, the Global Slave Trade, and Healing Through Artistic Reclamations

The global slave trade impacted nearly every continent and place on earth in some way. It was the largest forced movement of people in human history. Maine was deeply connected to global slavery through both the materials produced by enslaved Africans and the trade in enslaved Africans themselves. The brig Malaga was built in 1832 in Brunswick, Maine, by Joseph Badger. The Malaga made numerous trips to Africa, the Caribbean, and South America during the 1830s and 1840s, many under highly suspicious circumstances. In 1846, it was consigned by notorious Brazilian slave trader Manoel Pinto da Fonseca and was captured before enslaved people were loaded on board off the coast of Cabinda, Angola. A few months later, it returned to Africa and was captured by the British navy with 830 captive Africans—many of whom were sick and dying—on board.

175 years later, Antonio Rocha reclaims the story of Malaga and its captives in a stunning performance piece. “The Malaga Ship Story” is a tour de force performance. Using his entire body and voice, Antonio sings, narrates, and mimes his way through this poetically toned historical tale told mostly from the perspective of the ship. The story vividly explores the reality and impact of the slave industry, which was the largest industry in the world in the 1800s. The story also has a deep connection to the performer, for the Malaga went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1845, where Antonio was raised in a biracial household over a century later.

In this session, Antonio Rocha will be joined by Dr. Kate McMahon, Historian of Global Slavery at the Smithsonian African-American History Museum. Together, they will tell the story of the Malaga and reflect on the ways in which historians and artists can collaborate to create new forms of healing and justice through artistic creation.