Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1794 – 1795; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: 147.

Muster roll for the ship the Isabella, which sailed for the Congo, in Africa. 461 slaves were taken across the Atlantic, 455 being sold in Jamaica. Some of the crew mutinied on the crossing to Africa and were handed to the British Consul in Maderia.

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