Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1793 – 1794; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 181.

Articles of agreement for the ship, The Prince.

The ship, the Prince, sailed for Africa for a cargo of Negroes with orders to buy 407. The actual number bought is not known, but 285 were sold at Jamaica. Several of the crew died of the fever and the flux.

Articles of Agreement set out the terms and conditions of a voyage. The Articles was a standard printed form, listing the food rations and financial arrangements the crew would receive.

The muster roll is a list of all crew signed on for all or part of a voyage, which was used to calculate the money each man should pay to the Sailors’ Hospital Fund (insurance).

The Society of Merchant Venturers is a Bristol-based organisation, which was formed in 1552 as an elite body of merchants involved in overseas trade. The Society still exists today.

The language used to describe people of African descent in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries is unacceptable in today’s terms. We cannot avoid using this language in its original context. To change the words would impose 20th century attitudes on history.

Date: 1792

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers