University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1956 Royal African Company: a study in African slave trade to the West Indies Cloice Howard Bryan The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Bryan, Cloice Howard, "Royal African Company: a study in African slave trade to the West Indies" (1956). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 7948. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/7948 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ïus aoxÂi* AiTiucàu co:i?â.Tfs a srupx :Ui AFXICAN SLAV:'. TXA')F: Tü îiliî WTJ3T ÏÎOIFS, 1672*1689 C, ÜOViv;iD ii lïAit B* A, ^'-oatana Btate University, 1953 Presented la partial fulfillraent of tho req,uircîaonta for the def^i'eo of Master of Arts :TfxrTA:îA üTAii: 1956 Àp^.jrov5 d by* onaxrr ^Jjc&^itaers Dsaa, Lr&duate Bcaocl ILJML ;-at® Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP38749 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT OiMsrtaeion PüMWâng UMI EP38749 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 -1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Thd writer ewes an li?ii easxirable debt of gratitude to Dr# Edward Ik# Bennett for hia inspiration and guidanoe in developing this study end for iiis invaluable assistance throughout; to Dr# Melvin c# Wren for his authoritative crltisisms and suggestions, particularly relating to content and background requisite to the study; to Mr* Arch Calloway for his suggestions concerning style of writing# This thesis is dedicated to m j wife, Hltsue, without whose patient forbearance and understanding tlirouglicut the years of study, this tlieala would not have been possible. I arn Indebted to her for the expert typing of the many drafts of the thesis wnich required countless houi*s of persistent and patient skill# 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLM OF C0:4TEBTS P&L» ACKH0¥U3X>KMEN^3................. II LISÏ C-F TABLE'S .......... Iv Chapter I. S1IGLI3H TRADE TO WC3T AFRICA— EARLY INTEREST ♦ 1 II* THE ROYAL ÂFRICAM CO/ .PAifY— TE3 LOi»'ELTIC SCENB £0 III# THE WEST COAST CF AFRICA XU hOCOB #*#•## k$ ]nr# TXIJB ftOTCJiC, jAJPR.ICjia (IGfC'jUfY JL# IPlI.ft tTEST JLSfDjL&S; # «>3 V# OSSLRVÂTIC'îiS CO^C 'HkXUQ T.IU WMlAMù OF THE Ui;YAL AFRICAIN GOHPAHY 93 LiDLIGCRAPriT ................... 100 APFLL'DIX See maps In envelope# inside back cover 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table Pag;© 1 * Koeonatruoticn Sehame ##»»,##«*.** Elj, Zm Allocation of Capital of How Company between Shareholders and Créditera of the Old • * * 2I4. 3* Pcaitioa of tho Créditera on neeonatruetion * £14. Iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTW I m O h lS H TI-ULDTS TO ¥£3T AFIUCA— RARLY IliTEHiiST English merchaiîta war© infcaraatad In trade to West Africa as early aa l%8 l* la that year two IZagllsWea, John Tlntaa and William Fahlan, planned aa expeditica to Guinea» The Dutch and Portuguese for the most part oonti*olled the Guinea trade» and upon hearing of the &ij-igllsï^raen* a plans» King John II of Portugal sent an emissary to the Ehgliah sovereign with a protest#^ The Portuguese emissary an­ nounced John*a claim over Guinea, end protested that Uio proposed voyage of Tintarn and Fabian would be illegal according to privileges granted Joim by the Pope* Edward IV complied with the Portuguese objection» Edward then himself requested papal peralasion to trade in Africa, but nothing 2 ceano of his request# Hakluyt states that Ikiglish traders were engaged in the commerce of the Canary islands by 1526, and probably were somewhat familiar with the Guinea coast by 1530, possibly earlier# It 1» believed ttiat William Hawkins, leader of a ^Richard Hakluyt, The Princlosl '/c.vs:>:<3 » Traff l(iuee and .Discoveries" of 'the V-nrXis"r'^^atxo ( London ; ' J# H# Dent & Go#, 19Û/), Vi,pp. 121-24» VI, pp. 121-21|.. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a group of mereiittuts trading to draail, stopped at th® north Guinea coast «nrouta to Brazil in X530, 1531» and 1532$^ In 1553» Captain fUoraaa wlndiiaxti w&a M r e d by a group of merchant a to lead an expedition to Africa* Aear Llmlns» on the Cold Coast» the adventurers sold some of their goods for gold* At nearby dennln they obtained pepper» or “Guinea graines»" and elephants* teeth* 'fhe expedition returned to England, but lost over cne»half of the crew from sickness*^ In the following year another expedition» this tlrae under Captain John bok» secured several slaves in addition to a large amount of g-old and other products*3 In successive years» 1555» 155&» killlam Towerson mad© voyages to the Guinea coast* Despite Portuguese inter­ ference and harassiont, a profitable trade was obtained, attributed in large part to the demand for English cloth and iron wares along the Guinea coast*^ The above-described voyages and expeditions involved merchants and sea-faring captains with little or no assistance from the British Grown* In 15^*1» '^ueen ..'liitabeth I offered ^Jlftkluyt» AI» pp* 23-2ig* Also see Jai’ios A* Williai%son, Hawkins of Plymouth* (London: Adam & Charles Black, 19li9)» p;>*" lO-li* An" excellent record of the life and trading ventures of W11lima Hawkins may be found in Williamson» pp* 2-31# At this time the nmue » * Guinea»* referred to the stretch of West African Coast from t Im Gonegal Hivor to the Eight of iiiafra* Elizabeth Doiman (ed. ) » Docnr<onts Illus­ trative of the History of the Slave Trade to Ajnleric&Y ( aah- ixigtonj Carnegie iostitute of wasningtoa, 1930)» 'i, n. 8 . ^Hakluyt, VI» pp* l!pl-52* ^ m i d *. VI, pp. 15W 7 . ^Ibid*. VI» pp. 177-252. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 her Influeaee and riiifiuielai to » series of voje^es to tho Afrlcsa coast# In the cficao year oli# not only permitted tho use of four royal vessels for an expeditlca but elie spent five h«mdred pounds In prcvlsicrjdng them for t W voyage# Although the venture was not an unqualified suooess# the ,/u»en* a one'*third share of the profits amounted to ^ , 0 0 0 * ^ Coupled with thoir trading activitlos# talo expedition had boon directed to select a site for an hngllsh fort on tlie west coast of Africai the ;...n£li8U to tîils time had shown no desire to establish any permanent settlements on the Guinea coast# Bltliough a friendly chief hod offered hngllfili t.fadore p tho privilege of building a fort within hie ter3.1 tory# % e group of merchants promo ting the voyage had proposed to Jclux hok,^ a brltieh shipmaster# that he lead the expedition* After two unsuccessful starts and with tho season of bad weather approaclxlofc,# uck asked to be released frera his con- tract* He denied there was reasojti to fear the Portuguese# .although he reported that four "great o M p a " of fcrtugal were on the Culnea coast waiting for his pro*iiOters were ^^'111 ima H, S^cott# Tlie -^Constitution and Finance of rnf'llgl\# doottlsh and Irl sh"'Join t-'X tcc’lf (, pa y th. os to 17 . ^(^ibridge# ' iho Uaiversifcy'' f ress# iï% pp# 5 -*6 # lueea rilsabeth*» profit may have baen only five hundred pounds# as It seems likely that the five hundred pounds which she spent in .provisioning the slilps a.iould be subtracted from the one tiwusand pounds wiilch she received# Hakluyt# VI, p# ^26# 3lhe more modern spelling of this name would be hccho# % M d *. VI, pp# 256-5?# Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. h lua±»totLtg however* th & vecsols wore dlS'>eto:i©d, eurlvin^ en tho eooet early in 1 ^6 2 * la 15^3 another fleet wna sent, which traded both at the hiver Sestoa and m i the Gold Ceaat* In the course of trading:. It was necessary to keep up a ll^ht but ecntlnuol warfare with, the fortu^uese, and sickness took a heavy toll*^ i;espite the obstacles and dlsccux^agesiont», tl'4.s saao sent out an expedition under David Cwlet 2. in 1^6ji. fl'iroo ships, one boloh^lfi^ to iXlisabeta, ec .-iprtsed tais expedlticn* 'ilio results were rataer disoour&g* in*;,, with an accidental powder explosion des troy la;^ one ship g the other two were attacked by the Portuguese aoid apparently returned witzmut o':tal%iln^: any African products#^ Until this tliu©, moat hagliah trade h i Guinea had been in exchan*^© for geld, elepliants’ teet/i and pepper, hnglish iûoz“cîiarits had shown little interest in the slave trade and îmd established no forts or settlauenta, l-n*^lish sailor» were now familiar with the Cuinea coast* ny trading waeie thjsy lihod, tl'ioy donoziotrated tl.s alleged fcrtugueso control to bo nore of a my tn tz^i fact# It was inio fa.;ioua dolni Hawhina, to some extent "ila father, William, who realised f:'ke £:r©at cerfe-ieroial gains the heat Indies wo'uld yield with the application of alave labor.