Betsy Heard (c. 1759 – after 1812) was a Euro-African

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 o ...

and merchant. Her father was an entrepreneur who had travelled from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, to the Los Islands, off the coast of what is now

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, in the mid-1700s. Her mother was African. Her father probably followed local custom, which dictated that a stranger would have to establish his position in society by marrying his landlord's slave or a daughter of a slave woman. Heard's father sent her to England, most likely near Liverpool (where there were usually 50-70 Africans and mixed-race offspring of traders receiving an English education). Upon completing her studies, she returned to

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and set up a trading post on the Bereira River, following her father's trade. Eventually, she inherited her father's slave-trading factory and connections. By 1794, she had established a monopoly on the slave trade in the area and owned the main wharf in Bereira, several trading ships, and a warehouse. This success was in part due to the Islamic jihad in

Futa Jallon Fouta Djallon (, , ; ) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the region Fuuta-Jaloo ( ) in the Pular language. 'Futa' is a Fula word for any re ...

; the vanquished were enslaved. Bereira itself was seized by the Muslims, but this had no detrimental effect on her business. She became recognised as the unofficial queen of the river up to the end of the century. Her wealth and political influence also earned her a reputation for diplomacy; she mediated a longstanding dispute that had endured from 1800 to 1807 between several local chiefs and the

Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the Freetown, second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settler ...

and averted a war. She appears to have retired from the slave trade after this. According to a visitor, she furnished her house in the European style. In 1807, she had another house built. She was apparently a relative of

Augustine Heard Augustine Heard (March 30, 1785 – September 14, 1868) was an American entrepreneur, businessman and trader, and founder of the Augustine Heard & Co. firm in China. Early career Augustine Heard was born into a wealthy merchant family of Ips ...

of Heard & Company, which dealt in the California

opium trade Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Betsy 1750s births Date of death unknown Guinean people of English descent 18th-century businesswomen 18th-century African businesspeople African slave traders 19th-century African businesspeople 19th-century businesswomen Women slave owners Women slave traders 18th-century slave traders

See also

References