History is generally thought of as a narrative of our past, but it’s also an infinite series of interconnected points. Disparate people, places, things, and events are all connected through a vast network of relationships spanning time and place. Shoes, ships, candle wax, cabbages and kings are all connected points, once you abandon a linear narrative and dive down the rabbit holes of history.

In this issue, what does a series of violent winter storms have to do with opium and a famous abolitionist? Let’s connect the dots.

Between December 14th and 27th, 1839, a series of three severe winter storms blew ashore  on the New England Coast. These storms caused the loss of more than 200 vessels, around 200 deaths, and damage to hundreds of other ships and port facilities. Loss in commercial shipping alone was estimated at $1,000,000, a 2024 equivalent of over $30 million. The storms also inspired at least two poets, but those are connections for another time.