Bristol Slave Trade
Bristol Walk On the south side of the square is the site of the first American Consulate in Britain, established in 1792.
Between 1698 and 1807 about 2,100 slaving ventures sailed from Bristol. Trade with Africa, the West Indies and America accounted for more than three-fifths of Bristol's commerce in the 18th century.
After American independence, Bristol continued to trade with both the northern states and southern slave states, which accounts for the establishment of a consulate in Bristol.
Exports of largely slave-produced tobacco from the southern states featured prominently in the city's economy.
Seven Stars Public House.
In the late 1780s the Quaker anti-slavery campaigner, Thomas Clarkson, visited this pub when investigating Bristol's involvement in the slave trade.
It is reported that the publican refused to associate with the slavers recruiting seamen and showed Clarkson other pubs that helped recruit for the trade.
He uncovered the awful conditions British sailors endured as well as the horrendous suffering of the slaves themselves.
Initially, public indignation seemed more aroused by the sailors' plight than by that of the slaves. Clarkson managed to gain access to the Merchant Venturers records.
From their own Muster Rolls, he found that the mortality rates of Bristol slave ship crews were very heavy in comparison to those of other cities involved in the triangular trade.
the Commercial Rooms were built in 1810, three years after the abolition of the slave trade, as a new centre for Bristol's businessmen. The site was formerly occupied by another of Bristol's famous coffee houses, Foster's Coffee House. The exterior of the building is worth a look for its symbolism. The statues representing Bristol, Commerce and Navigation are sometimes referred to as the three commercial graces (as opposed to Faith, Hope and Charity). A carved relief shows Britannia checking the monies due to her from the rest of the world.
The first open meeting in Bristol on the abolition of the slave trade occurred in 1788, in the medieval Guild Hall (now demolished), Broad Street. A petition was drawn up there and signed by, among others, Alderman John Harris, George Daubeny, Josiah Tucker, by then the Dean of Gloucester, the Dean of Bristol, the Baptist minister Caleb Evans and the radical minister of Lewins Mead congregation, John Estlin.
snipped from St. Kitts-Nevis History Page © Copyright 1998
Sunday, 27 April 2003 00:31:29
Between 1698 and 1807 about 2,100 slaving ventures sailed from Bristol. Trade with Africa, the West Indies and America accounted for more than three-fifths of Bristol's commerce in the 18th century.
After American independence, Bristol continued to trade with both the northern states and southern slave states, which accounts for the establishment of a consulate in Bristol.
Exports of largely slave-produced tobacco from the southern states featured prominently in the city's economy.
Seven Stars Public House.
In the late 1780s the Quaker anti-slavery campaigner, Thomas Clarkson, visited this pub when investigating Bristol's involvement in the slave trade.
It is reported that the publican refused to associate with the slavers recruiting seamen and showed Clarkson other pubs that helped recruit for the trade.
He uncovered the awful conditions British sailors endured as well as the horrendous suffering of the slaves themselves.
Initially, public indignation seemed more aroused by the sailors' plight than by that of the slaves. Clarkson managed to gain access to the Merchant Venturers records.
From their own Muster Rolls, he found that the mortality rates of Bristol slave ship crews were very heavy in comparison to those of other cities involved in the triangular trade.
the Commercial Rooms were built in 1810, three years after the abolition of the slave trade, as a new centre for Bristol's businessmen. The site was formerly occupied by another of Bristol's famous coffee houses, Foster's Coffee House. The exterior of the building is worth a look for its symbolism. The statues representing Bristol, Commerce and Navigation are sometimes referred to as the three commercial graces (as opposed to Faith, Hope and Charity). A carved relief shows Britannia checking the monies due to her from the rest of the world.
The first open meeting in Bristol on the abolition of the slave trade occurred in 1788, in the medieval Guild Hall (now demolished), Broad Street. A petition was drawn up there and signed by, among others, Alderman John Harris, George Daubeny, Josiah Tucker, by then the Dean of Gloucester, the Dean of Bristol, the Baptist minister Caleb Evans and the radical minister of Lewins Mead congregation, John Estlin.
snipped from St. Kitts-Nevis History Page © Copyright 1998
Sunday, 27 April 2003 00:31:29
posted by Hugh W at 10:36 pm
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