Description:

From ledger of ships’ muster roll, 29th September 1793 – 29th September 1794; Society of Merchant Venturers’ archive.
Articles of agreement for the ship, the Rodney , 1792.
The Rodney sailed from Bristol for a voyage to Africa for slaves; to Old Calabar in West Africa. 343 enslaved Africans were landed in Jamaica for sale. It is not known how many were bought in Old Calabar and how many died on the voyage.

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).

Articles of agreement set out the terms and conditions of a voyage. The Articles was a standard printed form, listing the food rations and financial arrangements the crew would receive.

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: 1792

Copyright: Copyright The Society of Merchant Venturers