John Dawson (slave trader) facts for kids

John Dawson (who died in 1812) was a powerful businessman from Liverpool, England. He was known as a slave trader, meaning he owned ships and businesses involved in the forced transportation and sale of people from Africa.

John Dawson started his career as a ship's captain. In 1778, while commanding his ship, the Mentor, he captured a large French trading ship called the Carnatic. This French ship was carrying valuable goods, including diamonds, and was considered the richest prize ever brought into Liverpool by a privateer (a private ship allowed to attack enemy ships). After this success, Dawson married the daughter of Peter Baker, who owned the Mentor. He then became a business partner in Baker's company, forming the firm of Baker and Dawson.

A Big Business in the Slave Trade

Between 1783 and 1792, Dawson and his partner, Peter Baker, ran the largest slave-trading business in Great Britain. This meant they owned the most ships involved in the cruel trade of enslaved people.

In 1790, John Dawson owned 19 slave ships. Each of these ships was worth about £10,000 at the time, which would be like £1.7 million today. By the early 1790s, their ships had completed over 100 voyages, carrying enslaved people across the Atlantic Ocean. Baker & Dawson became one of the biggest partnerships in the slave trade in Liverpool during the late 1700s.

In 1786, Baker and Dawson signed a contract with the Spanish government. This agreement was to supply enslaved people to Spanish colonies in America. Their ships delivered more than 11,000 enslaved people. The value of these captives was estimated to be around £350,000.

Ships Owned by Baker & Dawson

Baker and Dawson owned many ships that were used in the slave trade. Some of these vessels included:

One of their ships, the Sisters, sailed from Liverpool in 1786 to acquire captives in Bonny, Nigeria. Sadly, in 1788, the Sisters was lost at sea, along with its crew and any enslaved people on board.

Ship Captains and Crews

John Dawson and Peter Baker often hired the same captains for their slave voyages. For example, from 1785 to 1795, Captain Thomas Molyneux led six voyages for them. Joseph Withers and William Forbes each captained five voyages, and Joseph Fayrer captained four. In 1782, Dawson also hired James Irving as a surgeon on his slave ship Prosperity.

Financial Troubles

The large contract with the Spanish government caused financial problems for Baker and Dawson. During a time of economic difficulty in 1793, John Dawson was declared bankrupt. This meant he could not pay his debts, which totaled £500,000 (about £50 million today).

Even after his bankruptcy, Dawson continued to be involved in the slave trade.

Ships Owned by John Dawson After 1792

After 1792, John Dawson continued to own ships, some of which were still used in the slave trade. These included:

The ship Abby was captured by the French in 1796 after it had taken on 199 enslaved people. It arrived at Martinique in July of that year. The General Chacon was a French ship that first appeared in records in 1795. It was lost at Teneriffe while on its way to Africa.