George Ropes Jr.
Crowninshield’s Wharf, Salem, Massachusetts, 1806
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, M3459
“India Sales, at Salem,” Salem Gazette, 1791
Salem, Massachusetts
Courtesy of the Early American Newspaper Collection v.588, Serial & Government Publications Division, Library of Congress
Jacob Crowninshield, an East India merchant, provided President Thomas Jefferson’s administration with information about the India trade, including exports from its two main ports, Bombay and Calcutta. The ships depicted in this painting include the America, Belisarius, and Fame, each of which completed voyages to India. In addition to importing goods such as those advertised in the Salem Gazette, American merchants and seafarers indirectly introduced Eastern culture, philosophy, and religion to the United States through recollections of their travels and souvenirs.