Bristol and Liverpool: the Demise and Rise of Rival Ports in the Eighteenth Century Slave Trade.
Bristol and Liverpool: The demise and rise of rival ports in the eighteenth century slave trade.
In the early eighteenth century, Bristol’s dominant position as a slave trading port remained virtually unchallenged. Yet, by the end of the century, Liverpool firmly established its status as Britain’s leading slave trading port, surpassing Bristol completely. Despite some similarities between the rival ports, a number of factors, decisions and circumstances serve to explain Liverpool’s magnificent rise and Bristol’s consequent demise. The ports differing geographical locations, markets, trade goods, vessels, voyages and war impacts all played a role in Liverpool’s subversion of Bristol. The decision-making and business capabilities of the merchants also proved influential in the developments of the ports. This essay argues that most importantly, the Bristolian merchants’ poor economic and market decisions, compared with the exceptional business acumen of Liverpudlian merchants, sealed the fate of both ports. Bristol’s geographical location and new parliamentary legislation acted favourably to propel the town into the slave trade. The location of the River Severn and Bristol Channel encouraged early involvement in trade over the waterways, stimulating the development of the port city. Contributions to Atlantic trade also initiated Bristol’s role in the sugar trade, following the capture of Jamaica in 1655.[1] However, increased competition in the trade of sugar thrust Bristol merchants into the trade of slaves. An Act passed in 1698 further encouraged Bristol’s participation in slave trading, stating that any subject of Great Britain could trade to any part of Africa “between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope”, successfully ending the London Company’s monopoly.[2] Bristol’s geography served to hinder the port’s trading ability, mainly due to difficulties in navigating the meandering River Avon, its wide tidal range, and industrial waste in the river.
In the early eighteenth century, Bristol’s dominant position as a slave trading port remained virtually unchallenged. Yet, by the end of the century, Liverpool firmly established its status as Britain’s leading slave trading port, surpassing Bristol completely. Despite some similarities between the rival ports, a number of factors, decisions and circumstances serve to explain Liverpool’s magnificent rise and Bristol’s consequent demise. The ports differing geographical locations, markets, trade goods, vessels, voyages and war impacts all played a role in Liverpool’s subversion of Bristol. The decision-making and business capabilities of the merchants also proved influential in the developments of the ports. This essay argues that most importantly, the Bristolian merchants’ poor economic and market decisions, compared with the exceptional business acumen of Liverpudlian merchants, sealed the fate of both ports. Bristol’s geographical location and new parliamentary legislation acted favourably to propel the town into the slave trade. The location of the River Severn and Bristol Channel encouraged early involvement in trade over the waterways, stimulating the development of the port city. Contributions to Atlantic trade also initiated Bristol’s role in the sugar trade, following the capture of Jamaica in 1655.[1] However, increased competition in the trade of sugar thrust Bristol merchants into the trade of slaves. An Act passed in 1698 further encouraged Bristol’s participation in slave trading, stating that any subject of Great Britain could trade to any part of Africa “between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope”, successfully ending the London Company’s monopoly.[2] Bristol’s geography served to hinder the port’s trading ability, mainly due to difficulties in navigating the meandering River Avon, its wide tidal range, and industrial waste in the river.
Bibliography: Great Britain, Parliament, An act for the better improvement of the trade to Africa, by establishing a regulated company, London, 1708, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. Letter from Robert Thiennison (?) to James Rogers, slave ship owner concerning his brother who was a ship’s cook on the Pearl, Mr. Rogers London 15 August, 1786, Public Record Office, C107/8, http://www.englandpast.net/education/. Behrendt, Stephen D., “The Annual Volume and Regional Distribution of the British slave trade, 1780-1807”, Journal of African History, Vol. 38, 1997, pp. 187-211. Clarkson, Thomas, The history of the rise, progress, and accomplishment of the abolition of the African slave-trade by the British parliament, Vol. 1, London, 1808, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12428/12428-8.txt. Clemens, Paul G. E., “The Rise of Liverpool, 1665-1750”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1976, pp. 211-225. Hyde, F., Parkinson, B., & Marriner, S., “The Nature and Profitability of the Liverpool Slave Trade”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1953, pp. 368-377. Jones, S. J., “The Growth of Bristol: The Regional Aspect of City Development”, Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), No. 11, 1946, pp.57-83. Klein, Herbert S., “The English Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1782-1808”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1978, pp. 25-45. MacInnes, C. M., “Bristol and the slave trade”, in Patrick McGrath (ed.), Bristol in the Eighteenth Century, Newton Abbot, 1972. Mackenzie-Grive, Averil, The Last Years of the English Slave Trade: Liverpool, 1750-1807, London, 1941. Morgan, Kenneth, “Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century”, The English Historical Review, Vol. 107, No. 424, 1992, pp. 626-650. Morgan, Kenneth, “Bristol West India Merchants in the Eighteenth Century”, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 3, 1993, pp.185-208. Morgan, Kenneth, “James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade”, Historical Research, Vol. 76, No. 192, 2003, pp. 189-216. Morgan, Kenneth, “Shipping Patterns and the Atlantic Trade of Bristol, 1749-1770”, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 3., 1989, pp. 506-538. Richardson, David, “Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2001, pp. 69-92. Richardson, David, “Slavery and Bristol’s ‘Golden Age’”, Slavery and Abolition, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2005, pp.35-54. Williams, Gomer, History of the Liverpool privateers and Letters of Marque: With an account of the Liverpool slave trade, London, 1897. Williams, Eric, “The Golden Age of the Slave System in Britain”, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1940, pp. 60-106. [2] Great Britain, Parliament, An act for the better improvement of the trade to Africa, by establishing a regulated company, London, 1708, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. [3] Eric Williams, “The Golden Age of the Slave System in Britain”, The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1940, p. 67. [4] Gomer Williams, History of the Liverpool privateers and Letters of Marque: With an account of the Liverpool slave trade, London, 1897, pp. 467-468. [5] C. M. MacInnes, “Bristol and the slave trade”, in Patrick McGrath (ed.), Bristol in the Eighteenth Century, Newton Abbot, 1972, p. 173. [6] An account of the ships employed in the African trade, London, 1713, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. [9] Averil Mackenzie-Grive, The Last Years of the English Slave Trade: Liverpool, 1750-1807, London, 1941, p.16. [10] F. Hyde, B. Parkinson, & S. Marriner, “The Nature and Profitability of the Liverpool Slave Trade”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 5, No. 3, 1953, p372; Anthony Benezet, Some historical account of Guinea, Philadelphia, 1771. [11] Thomas Clarkson, The history of the rise, progress, and accomplishment of the abolition of the African slave-trade by the British parliament, Vol. 1, London, 1808. [14] Kenneth Morgan, “James Rogers and the Bristol slave trade”, Historical Research, Vol. 76, No. 192, 2003, pp. 195, 200. [15] Kenneth Morgan, “Bristol and the Atlantic Trade in the Eighteenth Century”, The English Historical Review, Vol. 107, No. 424, 1992, p. 641. [17] Stephen D. Behrendt, “The Annual Volume and Regional Distribution of the British slave trade, 1780-1807”, Journal of African History, Vol. 38, 1997, p.189. [18] Kenneth Morgan, “Shipping Patterns and the Atlantic Trade of Bristol, 1749-1770”, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 3., 1989, pp. 515, 532. [20] Stephen D. Behrendt, “Markets, Transaction Cycles, and Profits: Merchant Decision Making in the British Slave Trade”, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2001, p. 188. [21] William Enfield, An essay towards the history of Leverpool, 2nd Ed., 1774. [33] Paul G. E. Clemens, “The Rise of Liverpool, 1665-1750”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 29, No. 2, 1976, p.210. [43] Kenneth Morgan, “Bristol West India Merchants in the Eighteenth Century”, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 3, 1993, p.205. [46] Herbert S. Klein, “The English Slave Trade to Jamaica, 1782-1808”, The Economic History Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1978, p.42.