Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1766 – 1767; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 209.

Muster roll for the ship, the Betsey , sailing from Bristol to Africa and Jamaica, 1765.
The Betsey was a small ship of only 20 tons. Hence the small crew of 10 for a slaving voyage. It is not known how many slaves were bought in Africa, but 50 were sold in Jamaica.

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