Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Written by:
Captain Robert Mitchell  Search this
Subject of:
William Davenport, English, 1725 - 1797  Search this
Medium:
ink on paper, bast thread
Dimensions:
Closed: 12 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 11/16 in. (31.8 × 21.6 × 1.7 cm)
Open: 12 1/2 × 16 5/16 × 1 3/4 in. (31.8 × 41.4 × 4.4 cm)
Type:
account books
Place used:
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, Europe
Place depicted:
Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
Barbados, Caribbean, North and Central America
Jamaica, Caribbean, North and Central America
County Cork, Ireland, Europe
Cameroon, Central Africa, Africa
Date:
1774-1775
Caption:
Fox’s Wages Book
This volume contains information regarding a voyage of the ship Fox, a 146 ton brigantine that left Liverpool on March 8, 1774. The ship stopped first in the Cameroons, West Africa, where 148 African people were enslaved and brought aboard. The ship then crossed the Atlantic Ocean westward, landing first in Dominica. Seventeen (17) of the enslaved people died during the Atlantic crossing. After likely making other landings in the Caribbean to sell enslaved people the ship returned to Liverpool, completing the trip on February 22, 1775. The wages book recorded wages and debts of the crew, desertions, and several deaths of crew members by drowning. There are also records of enslaved people who worked on the ship and were paid in clothing.
Source: Nancy Bercaw, Curator, Slavery and Freedom
Description:
This bound volume contains information regarding Captain Robert Mitchell and his crew aboard the slave trading ship Fox. The covers are made from a brown paper and the text "Fox's Wages Book / Feb.y 1775 Capt Mitchell" is written on the front cover in black ink. The thirty-six (36) total interior pages have text pertaining to wages and debts of the crew, desertions of the crew, and several deaths of crew members by drowning, all written in black ink. There are also records of enslaved people who worked on the ship and were paid in clothing. Most pages have writing on the front and back sides, but there are some blank pages toward the back of the volume. The pages are bound together with bast fiber thread.
Transcription Center Status:
Transcribed by digital volunteers
Topic:
African American  Search this
Clothing and dress  Search this
Commerce  Search this
Finance  Search this
Health  Search this
Labor  Search this
Medicine  Search this
Middle Passage  Search this
Slavery  Search this
Trans Atlantic slave trade  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number:
2012.5.1
Restrictions & Rights:
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification:
Documents and Published Materials
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd58740e938-c1d4-4213-92aa-f6a409ca2d08
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.5.1