Inventory of the Speedwell; November 6, 1758
In November, 1758, the Brown brothers joined with Esek Hopkins and several other Rhode Island merchants to dispatch a ship, the Speedwell, to the French port of New Orleans. The cargo, described in this rough inventory, included ten slaves. The ship also carried one French prisoner, allowing it to travel under a flag of truce and to evade British restrictions on trading with the French, with whom Britain and its colonies were at war.