Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1783 – 1784; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: 25.

Muster roll for the ship, the Deane, from Bristol to Barbados, 1782.

The ship, with a large crew, was taken two weeks into the voyage, probably by the French. During times of war, merchant shipping became a target for licensed pirates, acting legally under letters of marque and known as privateers.

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: 1782

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers