Liverpool slave trade facts for kids

Liverpool is a port city in north-west England. In the 1700s, Liverpool was deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade. This was a terrible time when people were taken from Africa and forced to work in other parts of the world. Liverpool became important in this trade because its merchants could sell fabrics from Manchester to the Caribbean islands at very good prices.

History of Liverpool's Slave Trade

On December 1, 1699, a merchant named William Clayton sent his ship, the Liverpool Merchant, to Africa. The ship's captain, William Webster, bought 220 enslaved Africans. These people were then sold in Barbados. This is thought to be the first known ship from Liverpool to carry enslaved people across the Atlantic Ocean. Another Liverpool ship, the Blessing, sailed in 1700.

Over the next 30 years, Liverpool grew very quickly. Shipping from Liverpool slowly increased. By 1700, merchants were already bringing sugar and tobacco from the American colonies. Liverpool changed from a small fishing village into a busy city. This was because it started making a lot of textiles, iron, firearms, and gunpowder. These goods were then sent from the Port of Liverpool. The first commercial wet dock was built in 1715. By 1730, 15 Liverpool slave ships were sailing to Africa. There, the goods made in Liverpool were traded for enslaved people.

From the mid-1740s, Liverpool became the biggest slave trading port in Britain. It took over from Bristol. By 1750, Liverpool was the most important slave trading port in Great Britain. Its control of the slave trade kept growing. Between 1793 and 1807, when the slave trade was stopped, Liverpool was responsible for 84.7% of all slave voyages. London accounted for 12% and Bristol 3.3%.

After 1780, Liverpool's slave trade was at its peak. There were plenty of places for ships to dock at the Port of Liverpool. The local government, called the Liverpool Corporation, was very rich for its time. It spent over £1 million to build six new docks during the 1700s. Liverpool's docks were also used to build ships. They built 26% of all the UK ships used in the slave trade. This was a total of 2,120 ships between 1701 and 1810. In comparison, London and Bristol, the next two biggest slave ports, built less than half the number of slave ships that Liverpool did.

Liverpool grew as a slave trade port for a few reasons.

• Location: During times of war, ships from Bristol and London had to sail closer to mainland Europe. Then they would cross to North America and the West Indies. But Liverpool ships could sail north of Ireland after leaving port. This made their journey safer and faster.
• Isle of Man: Liverpool had a close connection with the nearby Isle of Man. Until 1765, the island did not have taxes. This allowed Dutch ships to store goods there. Liverpool ships could then pick up these goods and sail into the Atlantic without paying extra fees to the UK government.
• Industry: Liverpool was very close to the industrial areas of northern England. This meant Liverpool slave traders could easily get goods to trade for enslaved people. African slave traders especially liked to trade for cotton goods. Lancashire, a region near Liverpool, became very good at making cotton.

Liverpool's slave traders bought captives from all over West Africa. However, they focused on the Bight of Biafra and West Central Africa. From 1740 to 1810, they took 427,000 people from the Bight of Biafra. They also took 197,000 from West Central Africa.

Liverpool traders worked closely with African trading chiefs. They built a network of contacts in Africa. Liverpool also specialized in where they delivered enslaved people. They sold 391,000 enslaved people to Jamaica alone between 1741 and 1810. In the same period, they sold 85,000 enslaved people to Barbados. Liverpool was the main supplier in most slave markets. The only exception was Chesapeake, where Bristol remained the biggest importer.

African Company of Merchants

List of Liverpool members of the African Company of Merchants

The African Company Act 1750 created a new group called the African Company of Merchants. This group replaced the Royal African Company. The Act said that the slave trade should be "free and open to all his Majesty's subjects." It also stated that anyone trading to Africa between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope would be part of this new company.

The Act set up how the African Company of Merchants would work. It was based in London, Bristol, and Liverpool. Merchants who wanted to join had to pay 40 shillings to a person in their city. Members from each city would then choose three committee members to run the company. In Liverpool, the town clerk was in charge of this. On June 24, 1752, 101 merchants officially joined the company.

Street Names in Liverpool

Many street names in Liverpool are named after people who were involved in the slave trade. These include Bold Street, Earle Road, Tarlton Street, Cunliffe Street, and Cropper Street. Penny Lane, a street made famous by the song from the Beatles, has often been linked to a slave ship owner named James Penny. However, an investigation by the International Slavery Museum found "no historical evidence" to support this connection.

International Slavery Museum

The International Slavery Museum is located at Liverpool docks. It is above the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The museum opened on August 23, 2007. This date was 200 years after the slave trade was abolished in Britain. The museum helps people learn about the history and impact of the transatlantic slave trade.