Description:

From ships’ muster roll book, 1793 – 1795; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive. Muster roll no: SMV 170.
Note about the ship, the Royal Charlotte , 1794.
The Royal Charlotte left Bristol for Africa and Jamaica, with orders to buy 394 slaves. The ship was taken by the French on the voyage to Africa, and no muster roll was available.

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: 1794

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers