Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1794 – 1795; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: 44.

Muster roll of the ship the Richard, from Antigua, 1794. Of the 23 crew, 1 drowned, 4 deserted, and 6 were impressed, that is press-ganged by the Royal Navy to serve on naval ships.

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: 1793

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers