William Swymmer was an English merchant and slave trader. In 1667, he became a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. [1] He was an alderman in Bristol, and then Sheriff in 1679. [2] Swymmer may have inherited a share in a sugar plantation in Barbados from his father. His brother Anthony Swymmer and his wife Elizabeth Swymmer were also involved in the slave trade. [2] [3] Records survive of the1684 correspondence from William Swymmer and William Hayman, to William Helyar, the Somerset owner of a Jamaica plantation, explaining why they were unable to provide the ten slaves they had contracted to supply. The deal was illegal, as the Royal African Company had a monopoly on the British slave trade at this point. [2] [3]
In 1681, Swymmer built two warehouses in Bristol, probably for the storage of sugar, and in 1692 Swymmer loaned the Society of Merchant Venturers £600 for building a new quay and cranes in Bristol docks. [2]
In 1686 Swymmer writes to William Helyar to explain a delay in a separate consignment of slaves that had been agreed between Elizabeth Swymmer and Helyar's son. Historian Madge Dresser reports this as the only case she has found of a Bristol woman involved in her husband's slave-factoring or slave trading business. [2]
Swymmer's daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland.
Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset trade imbalances between different regions.
The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol.
Edward Colston was an English merchant, slave trader, philanthropist, and Tory Member of Parliament.
Bristol, a port city in the South West of England, on the banks of the River Avon, has been an important location for maritime trade for centuries.
John Pretor Pinney was a plantation owner on the island of Nevis in the West Indies and was a sugar merchant in Bristol. He made his fortune from England’s demand for sugar. His Bristol residence is now the city's Georgian House Museum.
Sir Abraham Elton, 2nd Baronet of Bristol and Clevedon Court, Somerset, was a British merchant, slave trader and Whig politician, who sat in the House of Commons for Taunton between 1724 and 1727, and then for Bristol from 1727 until his death in 1742. He also served as the High Sheriff of Bristol from 1710 to 1711, and was Mayor of Bristol for the year 1719 to 1720.
Maurice Thomson (1601/04–1676), of St Andrew's parish, Eastcheap, City of London and of Haversham in Buckinghamshire, was an English merchant, slave trader and Puritan, said to be "England's greatest colonial merchant of his day". He obtained a monopoly of the Virginia tobacco trade.
Isaac Hobhouse was an English slave trader, merchant, and member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. Based in Bristol, he was at the centre of money, trade, and credit and acquired much of his fortune through the trade and exploitation of African slaves in the 18th century.
Henry Dampier was an English merchant, politician, and slave trader in Bristol, England during the 18th century. He was elected Sheriff and eventually Mayor of Bristol. Dampier was involved in the Society of Merchant Venturers for decades and is known for having traded in slaves during the Atlantic Slave Trade.
John Dukinfield was a Bristol merchant and slave trader. Born 12 August 1677 in Bristol, he died in 1745. He had two brothers, Robert and William. A member of the family holding the Dukinfield baronetcy, he was a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers.
Abraham Hooke was a wealthy slave merchant from Bristol who participated in the Transatlantic Slave Trade from 1703 to 1736.
Madge Judith Dresser FRHS FRSA is an English historian and academic, who was formerly an Associate Professor in History at the University of the West of England, and is currently Honorary Professor in the department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol. Her specialities are the history of slavery, national identity, women's history, and the position of religious and ethnic minorities in British society.
The statue of Edward Colston is a bronze statue of Bristol-born merchant and trans-Atlantic slave trader Edward Colston (1636–1721). It was created in 1895 by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy and was formerly situated on a plinth of Portland stone in a public space known as The Centre in Bristol, until it was toppled by anti-racism protestors in 2020.
William Challoner was a prominent English slave trader in the 18th century.
William Hayman was a merchant, slave trader and Mayor of Bristol in the 17th century.
William Hibbert was an English planter, slave trader and merchant. He was the sixth son of Robert Hibbert (1717–1784) and Abigail Scholey. With his brother George Hibbert and cousin Robert Hibbert (1769–1849), William was a partner in the West Indian merchant house Geo. Rob. & Wm. Hibbert. The firm was involved in the slave trade and principally with the shipping, insurance and distribution of sugar from the West Indies.
Thomas Daniel was a shipping magnate, financier and sugar merchant in Bristol and London. His omnipotence was such that he was known as the "King of Bristol" and in later life "The Father of Bristol" because of his family's power in corporate and political affairs for over 50 years.
William Atherton, was a merchant and wealthy landowner from Lancashire, England, who operated and co-owned sugar plantations in the former Colony of Jamaica. He was a slave owner, as well as an importer of slaves from Africa.
Philip Freke was an English merchant involved in the slave trade and based in Bristol. Freke stood unsuccessfully as a tory candidate for the Bristol two seat constituency in the 1715 British general election.
Liverpool, a port city in north-west England, was involved in the transatlantic slave trade. The trade developed in the eighteenth century, as Liverpool slave traders were able to supply fabric from Manchester to the Caribbean islands at very competitive prices.
{{cite book}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)