Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1794 – 1795; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 186.

Articles of agreement for the ship, the King George, 1790.

The King George purchased 360 slaves at Bonny, West Africa. The ship was wrecked on the rocks of Barbados, and only 80 of the slaves survived. The ship was insured for £10,000.

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.

Date: 1790

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers