Bristol slave trade
Encyclopedia
Bristol
is a city
in the South West of England
. It is located on the River Avon which flows into the Severn Estuary
. Because of Bristol’s position on the River Avon, it has been an important location for marine trade for centuries. The city's involvement with the slave trade peaked between 1730 and 1745, when it became the leading slaving port.
Bristol used its position on the river to trade all types of goods. Bristol's port was the second largest in England after London
. Countries that Bristol traded with included France
, Spain
, Ireland
, Portugal
, and North Africa’s Barbary Coast
. Bristol’s main export was woollen cloth. Other exports included coal
, lead
, and animal hides. Imports into Bristol included wine, grain, slate, timber, and olive oil. Trading with the various colonies in the Caribbean
and North America
began to flourish during the Interregnum
of Oliver Cromwell
(1649–1660).
The Royal African Company
, a London based trading company, had control over all trade between countries in Britain and Africa before the year 1698 At this time, only ships owned by the Royal African Company could trade for anything, including slaves. Slaves were increasingly an important commodity at the time, since the British colonization in the Caribbean and the Americas in the 17th century. The Society of Merchant Venturers
, an organization of elite merchants in Bristol, wanted to commence participation in the African slave trade, and after much pressure from them and other interested parties in and around Britain, the Royal African Company’s control over the slave trade was broken in 1698.
As soon as the monopoly
was broken, the first Bristol slave ship, the Beginning, owned by Stephen Barker, purchased enslaved Africans and delivered them to the Caribbean. Some average slave prices were 20£, 50£, or 100£. In her will of 1693, Jane Bridges, Widow of Leigh Upon Mendip bequeathes her interest of £130 in this very ship to her grandson Thomas Bridges and she indicates that the vessel was owned by the City of Bristol. Business boomed; however, due to the over-crowding and harsh conditions on the ships, it is estimated that approximately half of each cargo of slaves did not survive the trip across the Atlantic.
Between 1697 and 1807, 2,108 known ships left Bristol to make the trip to Africa and onwards across the Atlantic with slaves. An average of twenty slaving voyages set sail a year. Approximately 500,000 slaves were brought into slavery by these ships, representing one-fifth of the British slave trade during this time. Profits from the slave trade ranged from 50% to 100% during the early 18th century. Bristol was already a comparatively wealthy city prior to this trade; as one of the three points of the slave triangle (the others being Africa and the West Indies), the city prospered. This triangle was called the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade involved delivering, as well receiving, goods from each stop the ship took.
- the following figures are not exact and are the subject of on-going research across the world -
Between 1698 to 1807 about 2,108 slaving ships were fitted out in Bristol
- an average of 20 a year.
On average each ship would hold 250 Africans.
The total number of Africans taken as slaves by Bristol fitted ships was approximately a half a million people.
This total is about one fifth of the slaves transported in British ships.
The total number of Africans taken by British ships was around 2,800,000 people.
Ships which left Bristol to trade in slaves did so officially from 1698.
1668-1708. 4 ships a year left Bristol to trade in slaves.
1708 - 1712. The number of ships had risen to 13 a year. This represented about 13% of Bristol clearances.*
At this time Bristol provided much of the impetus for the British trade in slaves.
By the early 1720s. The number of clearances rises to 25 a year.
1728 - 1732. The number rises to 48 a year. This was half the number of ships involved in the slave trade. Bristol had replaced London as the major slave trading port in Britain. This number of ships represented about 12% of Bristol's total clearances..
1738. Liverpool became the major slave trading port in Britain. A position it held until the trade was ended in 1807.
Bristol's slave trade began to decline and was especially interrupted by warfare between 1744–46 and 1755-58.
After 1748 the number of ships involved in the slave trade leaving Bristol declined and the city's share of the national trade reduced to 25% in the 1750s and, by the time of abolition, it represented 2% of Britain's slave trade. When abolition came, therefore there was little opposition from the Bristol merchant community.
The slave trade also stimulated the demand for the shipment of goods to the West African coast. These included: Brass, Copper, Glassware and Gunpowder.
The ships were also used to re-export goods; cotton goods from India, Swedish bar-iron, Italian beads, German linen.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
is a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the South West of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located on the River Avon which flows into the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
. Because of Bristol’s position on the River Avon, it has been an important location for marine trade for centuries. The city's involvement with the slave trade peaked between 1730 and 1745, when it became the leading slaving port.
Bristol used its position on the river to trade all types of goods. Bristol's port was the second largest in England after London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Countries that Bristol traded with included France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and North Africa’s Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
. Bristol’s main export was woollen cloth. Other exports included coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, and animal hides. Imports into Bristol included wine, grain, slate, timber, and olive oil. Trading with the various colonies in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
began to flourish during the Interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
(1649–1660).
The Royal African Company
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in the English Restoration of 1660...
, a London based trading company, had control over all trade between countries in Britain and Africa before the year 1698 At this time, only ships owned by the Royal African Company could trade for anything, including slaves. Slaves were increasingly an important commodity at the time, since the British colonization in the Caribbean and the Americas in the 17th century. The Society of Merchant Venturers
Society of Merchant Venturers
The Society of Merchant Venturers is a private entrepreneurial and charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol, which dates back to the 13th century...
, an organization of elite merchants in Bristol, wanted to commence participation in the African slave trade, and after much pressure from them and other interested parties in and around Britain, the Royal African Company’s control over the slave trade was broken in 1698.
As soon as the monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
was broken, the first Bristol slave ship, the Beginning, owned by Stephen Barker, purchased enslaved Africans and delivered them to the Caribbean. Some average slave prices were 20£, 50£, or 100£. In her will of 1693, Jane Bridges, Widow of Leigh Upon Mendip bequeathes her interest of £130 in this very ship to her grandson Thomas Bridges and she indicates that the vessel was owned by the City of Bristol. Business boomed; however, due to the over-crowding and harsh conditions on the ships, it is estimated that approximately half of each cargo of slaves did not survive the trip across the Atlantic.
Between 1697 and 1807, 2,108 known ships left Bristol to make the trip to Africa and onwards across the Atlantic with slaves. An average of twenty slaving voyages set sail a year. Approximately 500,000 slaves were brought into slavery by these ships, representing one-fifth of the British slave trade during this time. Profits from the slave trade ranged from 50% to 100% during the early 18th century. Bristol was already a comparatively wealthy city prior to this trade; as one of the three points of the slave triangle (the others being Africa and the West Indies), the city prospered. This triangle was called the Triangular Trade. The Triangular Trade involved delivering, as well receiving, goods from each stop the ship took.
- the following figures are not exact and are the subject of on-going research across the world -
Between 1698 to 1807 about 2,108 slaving ships were fitted out in Bristol
- an average of 20 a year.
On average each ship would hold 250 Africans.
The total number of Africans taken as slaves by Bristol fitted ships was approximately a half a million people.
This total is about one fifth of the slaves transported in British ships.
The total number of Africans taken by British ships was around 2,800,000 people.
Ships which left Bristol to trade in slaves did so officially from 1698.
1668-1708. 4 ships a year left Bristol to trade in slaves.
1708 - 1712. The number of ships had risen to 13 a year. This represented about 13% of Bristol clearances.*
At this time Bristol provided much of the impetus for the British trade in slaves.
By the early 1720s. The number of clearances rises to 25 a year.
1728 - 1732. The number rises to 48 a year. This was half the number of ships involved in the slave trade. Bristol had replaced London as the major slave trading port in Britain. This number of ships represented about 12% of Bristol's total clearances..
1738. Liverpool became the major slave trading port in Britain. A position it held until the trade was ended in 1807.
Bristol's slave trade began to decline and was especially interrupted by warfare between 1744–46 and 1755-58.
After 1748 the number of ships involved in the slave trade leaving Bristol declined and the city's share of the national trade reduced to 25% in the 1750s and, by the time of abolition, it represented 2% of Britain's slave trade. When abolition came, therefore there was little opposition from the Bristol merchant community.
- As ships fitted out for the slave trade spent longer at sea (up to 15 months) and were generally larger than most vessels leaving the port, the ships involved in the slave trade constitute a larger percentage of the overall clearances than these figures may suggest.
The slave trade also stimulated the demand for the shipment of goods to the West African coast. These included: Brass, Copper, Glassware and Gunpowder.
The ships were also used to re-export goods; cotton goods from India, Swedish bar-iron, Italian beads, German linen.