How Slavery Developed

Examples of cargoes

The slave ships leaving Bristol for West Africa carried many different items as part of the cargo for trading with the West African traders. Some of these trade goods were made locally in Bristol and the surrounding areas: brass ‘manillas’ are one such example. Other goods came from further away. For example, cloth from India would have been bought from London merchants who were trading with India. Tobacco, rum, brandy, jugs, beads, trunks and some of the cloth were to be used for buying rice for food during the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The ‘fine’ beads were for trading for gold and ivory.

Listed below are some of the items which were part of the cargo for the Bristol slave ship the Africa, in 1774. The ship’s owners kept an accounts book which tells us about the voyage: