Samuel Shaw (1718–1781) was an English
slave trader
The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from Ancient history, ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The socia ...
. He was responsible for at least 119 slave voyages between 1750 and 1778.
Early life
Shaw was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in England. His father, also called Samuel Shaw, was a
mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
.
Slave trade
Shaw was a member of the
African Company of Merchants
The African Company of Merchants or Company of Merchants Trading to Africa was a British chartered company operating from 1752 to 1821 in the Gold Coast area of modern Ghana, engaged in the Atlantic slave trade.
Background
The company was establ ...
. Prior to 1750 the British
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
held a monopoly of rights for slave trading in West Africa with a business called the
Royal African Company. An act of parliament ended the monopoly, the act was established by King George II and entitled "An Act for the extending and improving the trade to Africa, 1750, for the port of Liverpool".
Shaw kidnapped over half of his enslaved people from the
Bight of Biafra. The locality in West Africa has now been renamed to the Bight of Bonny, at the time it was commonly used by Liverpool slave traders. He took part in the Chesapeake slave trade sending at least 5 slave ships to the area.
References
Sources
*
*
English slave traders
1718 births
Date of birth missing
1781 deaths
Place of death missing
Date of death missing
People from Liverpool
18th-century merchants
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