William Boats (1716-1794) was a Liverpool

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of e ...

. Boats was responsible for 157 slave voyages, over half of his slaves were sent from the Bight of Biafra to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Slave trading and privateering

Boats had shares in at least 156

Guineaman Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

. In the book ''History of the Liverpool Privateers'' the author wrote that Boats was a waif found in a boat and enrolled in a

Blue Coat School A bluecoat school is a type of charity school in England, the first of which was founded in the 16th century. Most of them have closed; some remain open as schools, often on different sites, and some of the original buildings have been adapted ...

. It claims that he was apprenticed to the sea and rose to be a commander of a slave ship, becoming "one of the leading merchants and shipowners of Liverpool". Continuing, it says he married Ms. Brideson and captured a Spanish ship rich in gold and treasure. A Liverpool paper which announced his death at the age of 78, called him a "most useful member of society". Boats was the first slaver to have his ships sheathed in copper to prevent infestations of wood-boring parasites.

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* English slave traders People from Liverpool 1716 births 1794 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople {{UK-bio-stub