Almost from the beginning, the rocky soil and harsh climate of the area forced the settlers to turn their attention to the sea as a source of livelihood. The early settlers of Salem relied on fishing and shipbuilding. As the salt-fish trade expanded, larger ships were built in Salem, and these larger ships made longer voyages possible.

In l638, the "Desire" a vessel out of Salem, returned from the West Indies with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, salt, and slaves. This was the beginning of a trading pattern that would become very lucrative for Salem merchants in the seventeenth century. The ships from Salem traded lumber and dried fish for sugar and molasses from the islands of the Caribbean. The sugar, when refined, yielded a thick dark molasses that was distilled into rum. Eventually, a triangular pattern of trade developed: West Indies' sugar and molasses to New England New England's rum to Africa's west coast; and, African slaves to the West Indies' sugar plantations. Most Salem merchants and captains did not participate directly in the slave trade; however, many did support the system by carrying supplies to the plantations. Salem merchants also struck out across the North Atlantic to develop trade with Europe.

By the end of the seventeenth century, Parliament began a stricter enforcement of the Acts of Trade, which tended to place the American colonies at a disadvantage. Attempts by the Americans to evade these acts led Parliament to pass the Molasses Act of 1733 which imposed a heavy tax on sugar and molasses imported from foreign islands. This could potentially destroy the lucrative West Indies trade for Salem's merchants.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, the merchant class had built Salem from a tiny fishing village to a thriving seaport market town. Their wealth was reflected in the construction of elegant and grand houses, many of which were constructed along Essex Street. However, growing tensions with Great Britain were beginning to divide the merchants of Salem. Many of the older, established families had royal appointments and considered England their "home". However, the newer merchants did not feel this s loyalty.

When Independence was declared on July Fourth of 1776, Salem's trade suffered, but many Salem vessels set to sea as privateers. Privateering helped the port to survive by providing jobs for fishermen and seamen. However, even Salem's largest vessels would be no match for the British navy. Although Salem was America's only major port not captured by the British, the war seriously disrupted Salem's trade.

After the Revolution, Britain stopped all trade between her Caribbean colonies and the newly independent Americans. Ironically, this would bring about Salem's golden age. With the sugar trade closed to them, ships from Salem would blaze new trade routes to China and the East Indies.

In the forefront of this expanding trade was Elias Hasket Derby. The high point of this prosperous trade would be reached in the early nineteenth century. The great Federal style homes on Chestnut attest to the great wealth and prosperity of Salem's merchants of this period.

Unfortunately, this prosperity came to an abrupt end with the passage of the Embargo Act of 1807. The Embargo Act closed American ports to all foreign trade. When the Embargo was lifted in 1809, Salem's ships were soon back at sea, but trade was interrupted again by the War of 1812. Many of Salem's ships were lost in the war, and Salem would never again regain its commercial prominence.

(Compiled from Salem Maritime Salem in the Age of Sail . National Park Service Publication, 1987)