Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1766 – 1767; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 208.

Muster roll for the ship, the Africa . There were 3 Bristol slaving ships called the Africa , trading betwen 1740 and 1770. This Africa apparently made 9 slaving voyages. The last 2 were under new owners John Chilcott and Company in 1774 and 1776, and the accounts book for these two voyages is in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. For the orders for these two voyages, see The People Involved / Sailors / Orders and Agreements narrative.

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: 1765

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers