Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1748 – 1749; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 202.

Muster roll for the ship, the Rainbow, sailing from Africa and St Christophers; St Kitts in the Caribbean, first voyage, 1749.
Although with the same owners and captain as the ship, the Rainbow of 1748, this seems to be another ship under the same name, hence the first voyage note. The ship sailed to Africa with instructions to buy 300 slaves. The actual number bought there and sold at St Kitts is not known.

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: 1749

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers