Slave Trade Records from Liverpool, 1754-1792 - Key Data

From the mid-eighteenth century, Liverpool emerged as the dominant British port in the development of Britain’s transatlantic slavery economy. This collection sheds light on this dark period of British history by bringing together the papers of prominent figures and institutions connected with the city that were involved in the business of slavery: merchants, slave ship owners and captains, insurance brokers, bankers, and other businesses and trades associated with this infamous commercial enterprise. 

The documents cover many aspects of transatlantic slavery, from the exchange of goods for enslaved people with indigenous merchants on the west coast of Africa, to instructions for slave ship captains navigating the “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic. The sources in this collection likewise supply much information regarding the sale and prices paid for enslaved Africans throughout the Caribbean. There are also accounts of colonial products shipped back to Liverpool. Liverpool Slave Trade Records, 1754–1792 consequently provides insights into the profit motive that drove this commodification of people.

Liverpool was at the centre of other Atlantic trade routes. The papers of ship owner, James Brown, who traded salt, mainly between New Orleans and Liverpool, are therefore included as a supplement. These sources date between c.1809–1898.