Joseph Wragg (1698 – 1751) was a politician and slave trader in the

Province of South Carolina The Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of the Kingdom of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies i ...

. Born

Chesterfield, Derbyshire Chesterfield is a market town, market and industrial town in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is north of Derby and south of Sheffield at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, Rivers Rother and River Hipper, Hipper. In 2011 ...

, Wragg immigrated to the American colonies where he became a pioneer in the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. During the 1730s, Wragg was the predominant slave trader in South Carolina. The neighborhood of Wraggborough in

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 ...

is named for him; and two city parks and seven streets in Charleston are named for him and his descendants.

Life

Born in

to a family of Welsh descent, he and his brother Samuel Wragg were merchants in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before they moved to Charles Town,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, where both became high-volume slave traders. Initially Joseph Wragg sailed himself as a captain of

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

s. From the 1720s, Wragg and Benjamin Savage were the predominant slave transporters and traders in the Thirteen Colonies, and they were among the first colonial merchants and ship owners to specialize in slave trading. Between 1717 and 1744, Wragg and Savage accounted for 36 slave ships and the importation of around 10,000 African slaves. Wragg's name appears 25 times in minutes of the Royal African Company concerning shipments of slaves from

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

between 1722 and 1727. Historian Kay Wright Lewis describes him as "a Londoner and leading slave dealer." By the 1730s Joseph and Samuel Wragg were the first independent slave traders to break through the monopoly of the Royal African Company and were responsible for the first large influx of slaves to Charles Town. Henry Lieferman notes that "during the 1730s, for example, nearly 20,000 slaves, most of them from

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, were imported through the city, almost a third of them by Joseph Wragg & Co., the biggest slave trader in town." For example, on 15 March 1738, Joseph Wragg & Co. sold 179 adults and 175 children taken from Angola aboard the slave ship "Shepherd." During the year 1735/1736 alone, Joseph Wragg imported 341 slaves from Africa, 6,230 gallons of rum from Antigua and Barbados, paid duties of 296 pounds on sundries imported from Philadelphia and Barbados, exported 6,095 deerskins to London and Bristol, exported rice and imported various European goods. Between 1735 and 1739 Joseph Wragg & Co. received 20 cargoes of African slaves and paid 39,995 pounds in duties for them. His brother Samuel Wragg served in the Executive Council after the Crown purchased Carolina from the Lords Proprietors, and his brother's influence also secured Joseph a place on the council. Joseph Wragg was also President of the council.

Family

Joseph Wragg was married to Judith DuBose, the daughter of French Huguenot immigrants; her father Jacques (James) DuBose owned a large plantation near Charles Town. His brother Samuel Wragg was married to Judith's sister Marie DuBose. Samuel and his son were taken hostage by the pirate

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

in 1718, and Samuel Wragg then negotiated on behalf of the government of Charles Town and agreed to provide the pirates with a chest of medicines. Joseph Wragg's daughter Elizabeth was married to Peter Manigault, the wealthiest man in the British North American colonies by the 1770s. Another daughter, Mary, was married to the slave trader Benjamin Smith. Joseph Wragg has numerous descendants who were prominent in American society as businesspeople, lawyers, and politicians. Among his descendants is

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

. Wraggborough, a borough in downtown Charleston, was named for him by his son John; a number of parks and streets in Wraggborough are also named for him and his children. Ann Street, Charlotte Street, Elizabeth Street, Henrietta Street, John Street, Judith Street and Mary Street, all located in Wraggborough, are named for his children. The parks Wragg Square and Wragg Mall, located on opposite sides of

Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1773, it is the oldest museum in the United States. Its collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decorative ...

in Wraggborough, were given to the city by his heirs.Across the cobblestones: Maps. Page 77 Wraggborough is today part of the larger borough of Mazyck-Wraggborough, referred to as Wraggborough for short. Wraggborough is known for historical buildings and several museums, including Charleston Museum and Gov. William Aiken House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wragg, Joseph 1698 births 1751 deaths 18th-century American slave traders American people of Welsh descent People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire People from Charleston, South Carolina British emigrants to the United States Merchants from London Wragg family Merchants from colonial South Carolina