Description:

From ships’ muster roll book, September 1773 – September 1774; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 22.
Muster roll for the ship, the Betsey , from Africa and South Carolina, 1773.
The Betsey made one slaving voyage from February to September 1773. By December 1773, she was ready to sail again on another slaving voyage, with 128 slaves from the Gambia advertised for sale in South Carolina.

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: 1773

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers