Description:

From ships’ muster roll book, 29th September 1772 – 29th September 1773; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: SMV 16.
Muster roll for the ship, the Eagle , from Jamaica, 1771.
The crew were signed-on on 30th Dec 1771, for the voyage to Jamaica. They were discharged in Aug 1772 when the ship retured to Bristol, The muster roll is for the crew on the return voyage to Bristol, but the starting date of their employment is the date of their signing-on in Bristol.

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: 1771

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers