Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1748 – 1749; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 59.

Muster roll for the ship, the Emperor, 1747.
The Emperor , a large ship of 200 tons, sailed with orders to buy 550 slaves. The number actually bought is not known, but 384 slaves were sold at Jamaica. Amongst the crew is a man named John Oronoqua, of Bristol, a name that suggests a free black sailor.

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: 1747

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers