A 270 year old log book that belonged to Bristol slave
trader, Cranfield Becher was acquired
from his family last year at London’s Bloomsbury Auctions by Bristol Record
Office for £7 000.
Cranfield’s father John Becher together with his other sons
Michael, George and Edward, ran a slave trade business. They had a number of
galleys that were used in the triangular trade, including Jason, Southwell, Peniel, Excellence and Anson among others. The family owned a plantation in Kingston
Jamaica, where Cranfield’s brother Edward lived with his wife Hannah.
John Becher who ran a company called Ducommen, Becher &
Co, owned property in Orchard Street, Queen Square. Likewise, a row of terraced houses were built
for John Becher and his associate Henry Combe in Prince Street also in Bristol,
in 1726. One of these still exists to this day as the Shakespeare Tavern. In
addition, John Becher had an extensive property portfolio in Ireland which he
inherited from his father.
According to Allie Dillon senior archivist at Bristol Record
Office “There is no doubting the historical significance of this book and its
legacy. It records what was once considered a legitimate, commercial business-
with an eye for the huge potential end profit. It is important that this book
is part of our archive and that it is available for people to study. The book
is in a fragile condition but we have already digitised its contents so that it
can be read by visitors to the Record Office.
“Thanks to generous support from the Friends of Bristol
Museums Galleries & Archives and the Victoria & Albert Museum Purchase
Grant Fund we have been able to return this unique book to its city of origin
and for the first time we can make it available for research.”
The book that is now on display in Bristol provides detailed
insights into a transatlantic journey by the ‘Jason Gally’ slave vessel between
1743 and 1746. In the book are chilling handwritten instructions to the ship’s
commander John Bartlett on buying slaves in Angola for sale in the Americas.
There is also information relating to other associates and
businessmen with a vested interest in the Jason’s
slave trading ventures.
Dr Madge
Dresser, Associate Professor in History at the Regional History Centre describes
the Cranfield Becher records as providing a glimpse into eighteenth century
transatlantic slave trading operations; the
existing White ideology of the time, and the pattern of labour market activity
during this period.
As an illustration, the book identifies the group of men responsible
for overseeing Bristol’s slave trade. Bristol merchants played a prominent role
in the supply of enslaved Africans to the sugar plantations in St Kitts and Barbados
as well as the tobacco plantations in Virginia.
Bristol’s dominance in the 17th and 18th
centuries was made possible by establishing good business relationships in specific
regions of West Africa such as Angola. For instance merchants formed strong links,
based on secured bonds of trust with local trader dynasties that spawned generations.
They were also able to leverage business expertise and make effective
use of local resources. Of particular interest is the fact that merchants who
invested in the transatlantic slave trade were backed by Bristol’s Members of Parliament
(MP’s) for many years.These MP’s were influential in delaying the move to abolish
slavery in the House of Commons.by speaking favourably of the trade.
Dr Dresser adds that the book “details, for example, the transactions
between Bristol merchants and their Carolina agents who speak of ‘Negroes’ as
trading commodities from whom a good price must be obtained in precisely the
same tone as they discuss the rice and deerskins they also trafficked.”
With regards to gender conformity and job structure the
Professor states "A list of ship’s provisioners unexpectedly reveals that
women were among the smiths and gunsmiths who supplied goods and services for
the voyage to Angola, which among other things suggests that gender divisions
in work were not always as rigidly observed as
sometimes thought."
The legacy of the slave trade is evident in the various
buildings and institutions in Bristol that were born out of the wealth
generated from the trade in slaves and products based on slave labour. In this regard, Councillor Simon Cook, Bristol’s
assistant mayor aptly sums up the relevance of Cranfield Becher’s 270 year old log
book as “a deeply moving account of a particular time in Bristol’s history.
“Trading in human life to make money in any era makes for
chilling reading and it is through access to these original sources that we are
better able to comprehend the city’s past.”
