Description:

From ships’ muster roll book, 29th September 1772 – 29th September 1773; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: 61.
Muster roll for the ship, the Golden Grove , for a voyage from Bristol to Jamaica, and back to Bristol, 1771.
The Golden Grove would have been carrying manufactured goods and foodstuffs out to the colonies. It was part of colonial policy that the colonies should be depandent on the manufactures of Britain, to keep industry in business at home. The merchant navy were employed in transporting goods.

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