From Jersey to the Caribbean: Salt Cod, Slavery & the Hidden Maritime Networks of the Atlantic with Martin Toft

How did a small island in the English Channel become deeply connected to the Caribbean through the salt cod trade? What role did Jersey merchants play in the transatlantic economy, and how did salt cod become a staple food throughout the Caribbean?

In this episode of Dis A Fi Mi History Podcast, host Wendy Aris welcomes photographer, researcher, and maritime historian Martin Toft to discuss his groundbreaking research project, Entrepôt, and his Dispatch 1: Caribbean fieldwork exploring the historical connections between Jersey, Canada, and the Caribbean through the salt cod trade.

Martin shares how years of archival research and travel across Saint Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, and Grenada have uncovered the complex merchant networks that linked the Channel Island of Jersey to plantation economies in the Caribbean. At the center of the story is merchant Charles Robin, whose cod trading empire connected the fisheries of Atlantic Canada with Caribbean plantations, where salted cod became an essential food source for enslaved Africans and later for generations of Caribbean families.

Together, Wendy and Martin examine how maritime history, family history, colonial archives, and photographic storytelling reveal the economic systems that sustained slavery and shaped the modern Atlantic World. They discuss the relationships between merchants, plantation owners, shipping agents, and colonial governments, while exploring how historical photographs, archival documents, and field research can uncover forgotten connections between Europe and the Caribbean.

The conversation also explores the cultural legacy of saltfish—a food that remains central to Caribbean cuisine today. From Jamaica's national dish of ackee and saltfish to traditional recipes throughout the region, Martin explains how a commodity born from global trade, colonialism, and forced labor became woven into Caribbean identity and culinary heritage.

Whether you're interested in Caribbean history, genealogy, maritime history, Atlantic World studies, food history, slavery, or archival research, this episode uncovers a fascinating story of commerce, migration, and cultural resilience that continues to shape the Caribbean today.

In This Episode

How Jersey became a major player in the Atlantic salt cod trade

Charles Robin and the merchant networks connecting Canada and the Caribbean

Why salt cod became a staple food throughout the Caribbean

The relationship between commerce, slavery, and plantation economies

Using archives, photography, and fieldwork to uncover hidden histories