RHODE ISLAND’S BITTERSWEET PAST WITH SUGAR

by Richard Ring, Deputy Executive Director for Collections and Interpretation

Members will notice an increasing number of programs and initiatives at the RIHS oriented towards the year 2026, which marks the “semiquincentennial” of the United States of America (or more simply, “America250”). Because Rhode Island began commemoration for the 250th last year, we have dedicated a gallery in the John Brown House Museum to a new annual display related to Rhode Island’s road to Revolution. This endeavor began last June, with The Gaspee Legacy: Resistance or Treason?, which chronicled the events leading to the burning of the Gaspee, as well as its lasting impact.

This year’s exhibit, Bittersweet: Sugar's Sticky Road to Revolution, which opened in the last week of May, explores Rhode Island’s complex relationship with sugar in the colonial period.

Sugar, molasses (a by-product of the sugar refining process), and rum (distilled from molasses) were among the major commodities that drove the Atlantic world economy from the sixteenth century through the eighteenth century. The trade in sugar and its related products were central to the West Indies trade and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Thus, they were of overwhelming influence in the economy of Rhode Island. In short, the Rhode Island economy relied on sugar. The burning of the Gaspee would not have happened without sugar. Would Rhode Island have been so eager to join the Revolution without this bittersweet commodity?

The exhibit, which will be on display through the end of the year, offers visitors the chance to view objects, maps, and documents related to sugar production, trade, and consumption from Caribbean plantation to the colonial table and shows the link between this system and Rhode Island’s entry into the American Revolution.

"It's remarkable that when you start digging into the history of sugar you see that this product, one that we take for granted and consume every day, has such a long and difficult history and is so intertwined with Rhode Island and the Revolution," says Education Director Sally Meyer. " We hope the exhibition demonstrates that almost everyone living and working in Rhode Island was bound up in the sugar and slave trade. When that trade was threatened by taxes and restrictions, Rhode Islanders rose up and fought back."

by Sally Meyer, Director of Education

On April 1, the RIHS hosted Rhode Island History Day (RIHD), the 40th Annual Affiliate Contest for National History Day (NHD). For the second time, we hosted our state contest at Toll Gate High School, and we are so grateful for their support. Each year, the contest welcomes middle and high school students from across the state to share individual or group projects, including exhibits, websites, documentaries, papers, and performances This year’s state contest boasted 84 projects developed by 138 students at 19 schools, with even more students participating in school-level contests.

This year's annual theme, “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas,” gave students the opportunity to explore the meaning of the word “frontier," both

Topics ranged from journalist Nellie Bly's life to the microwave oven's invention and just about everything in between.

Senior Individual Website 1st Place Winner Hannah Chasse's project delved into the life and experiences of mathematician Katherine Johnson, one of the “Hidden Figures” of the space race Chasse explored not only the traditional “final frontier” of space, but also Johnson’s crossing of racial and gender barriers She noted that her project “allowed [her] to demonstrate [her] skills in writing, research, and innovative thinking.” Her teacher, Dr. Thalia Wood, who facilitated the hosting of RIHD at Toll Gate High School, shared, “Having worked with students and teachers for thirtythree years on National History Day entries, I have never wavered in my belief that this experience helps our students develop outstanding skills that can be transferred to so many other areas of inquiry.”

This year’s contest was a great one for teachers, as well. Two Rhode Island teachers were nominated for the Patricia Behring NHD Teacher of the Year, a national award with a $10,000 prize Nominee Michael McNamara from Ponaganset High School said, “This was a special year It's been a crazy few years in education, so this is a great reminder that the good work is being seen.” Fellow nominee Julie ConnorsCostello from Winman Middle School is “incredibly proud of Warwick's students and their dedication to quality research and project presentation.”

The top two students in each category will move on to the national contest in College Park, Maryland in June.