Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1748 – 1749; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 118.

Muster roll for the ship, the Michael (?), sailing from Jamaica, 1747.
The Michael was one of many merchant ships supplying the colonies with manufactured goods and foodstuffs. Amongst the crew is Japher Bird, probably the same man who went on to be master of two slaving voyages in the ship, the Hound in 1750 and the ship, the Matilda in 1753.

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