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HomePage
Pre 17th Century
Why were slaves needed
Why African slaves
The Transatlantic Trade
The Outward Passage
The Middle Passage
The Slave Auctions
Plantation Life
The Return Passage
Bristol v Liverpool
Royal African Co.
Merchant Venturers
Edward Colston
John Pinney
The End of Slavery
Bristol Today
Acknowledgements
| | The
Transatlantic Trade Triangle
| When the monopoly of the London-based Royal Africa Company came to
an end in 1698, Bristol found itself well placed to enter the 'Africa Trade' and by 1730
had replaced London as the centre of operations for the slave trade.
"...the greatest, richest and best port
of the trade in Great Britain, London only excepted. The merchants of this city not only
have the greatest trade, but they trade with a more entire independency upon London, than
any other town in Britain.
..the
Bristol merchants as they have a great trade abroad, so they have always buyers at home,
for their returns and that such buyers that no cargo is too big for them."
Description of Bristol by Daniel Defoe- Tour
Through England and Wales c1720
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 Bristol's location on the Atlantic side of Britain also aided it's participation in the
slave trade. For outwardly respectable merchants 'out of sight was out of mind'
; their lust for money overcame any doubts they may have had about the moral legitimacy of
the trade. Amongst the leading Bristol merchants of the time who benefited substantially
from the slave trade were John Pinney and Edward
Colston. |
| But how exactly did the trade operate ? |
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The Trade Triangle. |
The trading in slaves revolved
around three separate strands of a complete voyage:
The Outward Passage
The Middle Passage
The Return Passage
The complete round trip took about 12 months and the conditions on board were hard and
dangerous. Many captains of slave ships ( or 'blackbirds' as they were sometimes called )
had a reputation for cruelty, and both crew and African slaves suffered.
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