ExhibitionProducing Food / Negotiating Power
The Potomac River was a lucrative source of trade and commerce for planters and slaves who, when possible, used the informal economy to barter and exchange fish for other goods.
George Washington used the Potomac River for an extensive fishing enterprise, and grew food for sustenance and commerce. Washington relied upon the skill, labor, and knowledge of the slaves at Mount Vernon for much of his wealth. Slaves used this position as a negotiating tool to bargain for labor arrangements that provided some degree of autonomy.
Washington at Mount Vernon, 1797, Nathaniel Currier, 1852
Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
Fishing line, 1760–1800
Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
Catching dinner
Slaves at the Mount Vernon plantation, like the elderly “Father” Jack, often were tasked with catching fish, using a simple line and hook, for George Washington’s dinner.
Fishing hook, ca. 18th century
Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
Catching dinner
Slaves at the Mount Vernon plantation, like the elderly “Father” Jack, often were tasked with catching fish, using a simple line and hook, for George Washington’s dinner.
“Coffee” plate from A Curious Herbal, ..., Elizabeth Blackwell, 1737
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Raw coffee beans from the Caribbean
Merchant ships transported coffee beans from the West Indies to colonial ports. George Washington imported large amounts of beans often exchanging shad or herring caught from the Potomac River for coffee.
A Treatise Concerning the Properties and Effects of Coffee., Benjamin Moseley, 1792
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Labored roast
Coffee making was labor intensive. Enslaved cooks used coffee roasters placed in front of the kitchen fire to roast the beans and then ground them in a hand-turned grinder before brewing.