Description:

Part of a letter to the Trustees of the Seaman’s Hospital, undated but probably 1772, no.50b. Robert Barker, carpenter on the Thetis for a slaving voyage to Africa, lost his sight due to ‘a distemper raging among the slaves and crew’. He was granted a pension of 3/6d a week, but this was stopped after he published a pamphlet accusing the captain of the Thetis of cruelty. This is a letter, backed by sworn witness statements, asking for the restoration of the pension as Barker was in great need.

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.

Creator: Seamens' Hospital

Date: 1756-60

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers

Object ID:50b