| Slavery
- The Davenport Collection |
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| The
log book from the King George vessel in 1772 |
By
the mid 18th Century, 95% of all slave voyages took place from one
Britain鈥檚 three major ports, Liverpool, London and Bristol.
William
Davenport was a successful Liverpool merchant involved in the transportation
of African slaves. Recently a collection of letters, invoices and
receipts have been recovered, which highlight the activity of Davenport
and his Captains in the capture and selling of African slaves.
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12 bundles of letters and receipts were recovered |
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Did
you know that?
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The
Liverpool Merchant, the first recorded Liverpool slaver ship
sold her cargo of 220 West Africans in Barbados in 1700.
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The
papers particularly highlight the inhumanity of the trade, with
the slaves being treated as a cargo.
The slaves were listed not by their names, but as numbers of men
women and children, with the only personal detail being their age.
It also reveals the price a slave could be expected to fetch, 拢80
for two male slaves, a substantial amount of money in the 18th Century.
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| Many
slaves never even reached America with death and disease rife
on the slave ships |
The
documents stand as a dark reminder of Liverpool鈥檚 past and their
return to the Maritime Museum ensures that it is not forgotten.
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| The
log books reveal intimate details of the process of slavery |
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