Description:

From ships’ muster roll book, September 1773 – September 1774; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 35.
Muster roll for the ship, The Phoenix , from Bristol to Africa, 1772.
The Phoenix left Bristol for Africa and Jamaica, but seems to have gone to Dominica. The number of slaves bought and sold is not known. Ten of the crew died, and three deserted on the voyage.

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: 1772

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers