John Dawson (slave trader)

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John Dawson
Died1812
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Ship's captain and owner of slave ships

John Dawson (died 1812) was a Liverpool slave trader and captain. [1] Between 1783 and 1792, Dawson and his business partner Peter Baker were the largest slave traders in Great Britain. [2]

Contents

Slave trade

In 1790, Dawson owned 19 slave ships, with an average value of £10,000 [3] (about £1.5 million today). By the early 1790s, the partners' vessels had completed over 100 voyages. Baker & Dawson became one of the biggest slave-trading partnerships in late 18th-century Liverpool.[ citation needed ]

In 1786, Baker and Dawson, entered into a contract with the Spanish Government to supply slaves to Spanish America. Their vessels delivered more than 11,000 slaves. [4] It was estimated that the slaves were valued at £350,000. [5]

Life

During one of his voyages Dawson, captured the French East Indiaman Carnatic. When Carnatic came into Liverpool, she was said to be worth £135,000 and the richest prize ever taken and brought safe into port by a Liverpool privateer. Part of the value was due to a box of diamonds that had been found on her. [6] Dawson married the daughter of Peter Baker, the shipbuilder who owned Mentor, and became a partner in the firm of Baker and Dawson. [4]

List of vessels owned by Baker & Dawson

Baker and Dawson were the largest firm of slave traders in England. Vessels they owned, individually or together, included:

Sisters, of 252 tons (bm), was launched at Liverpool in 1786. [7] Captain John Elworthy sailed from Liverpool on 16 October 1786. She acquired captives at Bonny. On 22 September 1788 Sisters was declared to have been lost. [7] She disappeared on the coast of Africa or on her way to the West Indies, together with her crew and any captives on board. [8]

Captains and crews

In January 1782 Dawson employed James Irving as a surgeon on his slave ship Prosperity, captained by James Murphy and based in Liverpool. [9]

Baker and Dawson often re-employed the same captains for their slave voyages. From 1785 to 1795 Thomas Molyneux captained six voyages, Joseph Withers and William Forbes five voyages, and Joseph Fayrer four. [2]

Bankruptcy

The contract that Baker and Dawson with the Spanish government to supply slaves to Spanish America caused the partners to over-reach themselves. [4] During the credit crisis of 1793, [10] Dawson was declared bankrupt in 1793, owing £500,000 (about £74 million today). [4] [11]

List of vessels owned by John Dawson after 1792

Citations

  1. ↑ Richardson (2007), p. 197.
  2. 1 2 Behrendt (1990), pp. 104–105.
  3. ↑ Richardson (2007), p. 249.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Longmore (2013), p. 50.
  5. ↑ Richardson (2007), p. 32.
  6. ↑ Williams (1897), p. 239–240.
  7. 1 2 Craig & Jarvis (1967), p. 20.
  8. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Sisters voyage #83562.
  9. ↑ "James Irving".
  10. ↑ Hyde, Parkinson & Marriner (1951), pp. 363–378.
  11. ↑ Richardson (2007), p. 41.
  12. ↑ Behrendt (1990), p. 91.
  13. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Abby voyage #80001.
  14. ↑ LR (1795), Seq.no.G375.
  15. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – General Chacon voyage #81571.
  16. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2788. 26 January 1796. hdl:2027/uc1.c3049068.

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References

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