Description:

Ships’ muster rolls from 1753 – 1754; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Muster roll no: 186.

Muster roll for the ship, the Fly, sailing from Africa to Jamaica, 1753.
The Fly made a very fast slaving voyage of just under 9 months. The number of slaves bought in West Africa is not known, but 193 slaves were sold at Jamaica.

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: 1753

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers