John Knight (slave Trader)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Knight (1708–1774) was an English
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 ...
. He was responsible for at least 114 slave voyages in the period 1750–1775 and he transported over 26,000 Africans to the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. Knight traded enslaved Africans with the American politician and slave owner
Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laur ...
.


Early life

Knight was born in
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 ...
in 1708. His father, John Knight, was a
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
.


Slave trade

Knight was responsible for at least 114 slave voyages in the period 1750–1775, he delivered over 26,000 Africans to the Americas. He operated out of the
Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of ...
and bought over 40% of his enslaved people from the
Bight of Biafra The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west- central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. This "bight" has also sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "Bight of Africa" because ...
off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...
. In Nigeria, the Bight of Biafra has now been renamed the Bight of Bonny. The Bight of Biafra was commonly used by Liverpool slave traders. Knight was a member of the
African Company of Merchants African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** List ...
. 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, parti ...
held a monopoly of rights for slave trading in West Africa with a business called the
Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Eng ...
. Knight began slave trading in 1750, the year that the monopoly ended. Knight was the owner of the slave-ship ''Fanny''. Its Captain, William Jenkins, bought 171 Africans in May 1755. Knight gave Jenkins instructions to sell the enslaved people for £30, if he was unable to achieve this price in the West Indies, he was told to sail to America and sell them there. The surviving enslaved people were sold in
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...
; 20 had died during the voyage.


Letters from Henry Laurens

Knight regularly sold enslaved Africans to
Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laur ...
, an American slave trader, slave owner, plantation owner, political leader during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
and one of the largest slave traders in
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
. Laurens described Knight as his friend, and some of the correspondence between the two has been preserved and records their slave trading. A letter addressed to Knight from Laurens gives insight into the attitude of slave traders to their African captives. A ship called ''Emperor'' and captained by Charles Gwynn had embarked from Africa with 390 enslaved people on board; 120 of them had died. Laurens laments the loss of the £2,000 that these people could have been sold for. The ship was owned by Laurens and bound for his home town,
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
. Laurens left the slave trade in 1762, but Knight tempted him to return to the trade the following year. Laurens wrote to Knight "he would rather not pursue that trade" but indicated he would sell the cargo for Knight. Laurens also wrote that the price of enslaved people was too low - because crops of rice and indigo were selling poorly, necessitating the use of less labour. Laurens wrote to Knight and other Liverpool slave traders in 1755. He was expressing his concern about the effect of shipworms on the slavers' ships. He wrote that the ''Enterprise'' owned by Knight was so rotten that it had been condemned. The shipworm responsible was the teredo. Laurens also wrote to Knight about a bill before the colonial assembly that would tax and effectively stop the slave trade for three years from 1766. Laurens voted against the bill but was overruled.


See also

* Felix Doran


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, John 1708 births 1774 deaths African Company of Merchants Businesspeople from Liverpool 18th-century English slave traders English businesspeople in shipping