Thomas King (slave Trader)
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Thomas King (c. 1740 – c. 1824) was a British slave-trader and partner in the firm of Camden, Calvert and King. His early career was at sea in a variety of vessels involved 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 ...
in the Caribbean and West Africa in the 1760s. He probably met his future business partners Anthony Calvert (1735–1809) and
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
at this time when he was master on ships owned by them. He first partnered with them as Camden, Calvert and King for the voyage of the ''Three Good Friends'' to St Vincent in 1773 and the firm subsequently made many slaving and trading voyages in which they transported at least 22,000 enslaved persons, mostly from West Africa to the Caribbean. In 1776 he was tried for murder at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in London but acquitted. He was a governor of the
Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...
in London, elected to the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, and one of the founder subscribers of Lloyd's of London. King acquired significant wealth and owned a number of estates in
British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...
(now Guyana). He left an estate of £120,000 in 1824.


Early life and family

The year of King's birth is unknown. His father was Newark King and his family had connections with the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
.Cozens, Kenneth James. (2005
''Politics, Patronage and Profit: A Case Study of Three 18th Century London Merchants''.
Greenwich: Greenwich Maritime Institute. pp. 21 & 24. He married Sarah and had children Sarah Amelia,
William King William King may refer to: Arts * Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer * William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King * William King (artist) (1925–2015), ...
,Thomas King of Stamford Hill.
Legacies of British Slave-ownership. Retrieved 5 September 2018. Anthony Calvert, Thomas Harper, Henry, and George.


Early career

King's early career was at sea in a variety of vessels involved in the slave trade in the Caribbean and West Africa. In 1766 he went to Africa as
second mate A second mate (2nd mate) or second officer (2/O) is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship holding a Second Mates Certificate of Competence, by an authorised governing state of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). ...
on the ''Royal Charlotte'' which was transporting the African company's stores to Cape Coast Castle. The ship took on 120 slaves on the Gold Coast. It was probably during this period that he met his future business partners Anthony Calvert (1735–1809) and
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
when he was master on ships owned by them. He became close friends with Anthony Calvert and named one of his sons Anthony Calvert King. In 1771, while he was master of the ''Surrey'' (or ''Surry''), owned by Anthony Calvert, he was involved in an incident that saw him charged with the murder of a sailor, John Warren, for which he stood trial at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in 1776. He was said to have kicked Warren to death while calling him "an Irish son of a bitch". His bail of £500 was provided by Calvert and the London wine merchant Robert Manley. He was acquitted of the charge."The Slave Trade is Merciful Compared to [This
/nowiki>"">his">"The Slave Trade is Merciful Compared to by Emma Christopher in His sea career was summarised in evidence given to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in 1789.''Abridgement of the Minutes of the Evidence, Taken Before a Committee of the Whole House, To Whom it was Referred to Consider of the Slave-Trade''.
1789. pp. 66–77.


Camden, Calvert and King

The first venture in which King partnered with Anthony Calvert and William Camden was the voyage of the ''Three Good Friends'' to St Vincent via Cape Coast Castle">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines">St Vincent via Cape Coast Castle in 1773 when he was joint master with Calvert. Ships of the firm made 77 voyages carrying slaves between the 1780s and the early 1800s and transported over 22,000 enslaved persons from West Africa, 65% of whom disembarked in Jamaica, 12% in the Guianas, 14% in other parts of the Caribbean and the remainder elsewhere; the firm's activities also included supplying British dockyards and overseas garrisons, whaling, transporting convicts, and trading in commodities from the East Indies."Human Capital in the British Slave Trade"
by Stephen D. Behrendt in King is credited by Kenneth Cozens with further expanding the firm's activities into the fields of banking, insurance, and London infrastructure such as the construction of London Docks. His son William was a director of the
London Dock Company The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping, downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had doc ...
.Cozens, p. 25. William Camden died in 1796 but the firm continued under the same name until Calvert died in 1809.


Other activities

In 1771, King was one of the founding subscribers of
Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...
. He was also a governor of the
Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...
. He was elected a younger brother of
Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...
in October 1780Cozens, p. 62. on the recommendation of Timothy Mangles, a ship owner in Wapping,Cozens, pp. 60–61. and an elder brother in 1788. Many of those involved in the trade with West Africa were members of Trinity House. He featured in the ''Great Court Painting'' that was commissioned in 1794 to mark the design of Trinity House. Contemporaries of Thomas King among the elder brothers around 1810 included the Duke of Marlborough, two Lords, four Earls, and two Viscounts. He was a member of the Blackheath Golf Club (later the Royal Blackheath Golf Club) whose members had strong Masonic and slaving connections.''Greenwich Slavery Trail''.
Port Cities London, 2004. p. 3.


British Guiana

He owned the Friendship estate in
Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...
, British Guiana, that included over 300 slaves in the early nineteenth century,Friendship.
Legacies of British Slave-ownership. Retrieved 5 September 2018. and the Sarah estate in Demerara with over 170.Sarah.
Legacies of British Slave-ownership. Retrieved 5 September 2018. He also owned the Schoonhoven or Schoonhaven estate in Essequibo or Demerara.


Death and legacy

King's will was proved in February 1824. He left an estate of £120,000, the majority of which was divided between his family with some in trust and legacies to be paid five years after his death. According to records, his son William took over the Friendship and Sarah estates in British Guiana.


Descendants

* Lafayette King: August 1, 1935 - September 28, 2023 * Chandra King: 1960 - * Rodney King: October 15, 1961 - * Laverne King: September 13, 1966 - * Kevin King: June 28, 1959 - January 19, 2022 * John C. King * Esther Autry King * Son Early King Located in Compton, CA; Cullman, Alabama; Bay Minette, Alabama.


References


External links



North Yorkshire History
New insights into 18th century East India Company networks
Port Towns {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Thomas (slave trader) British slave owners Stamford Hill Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 1740s births 1820s deaths People from Stamford Hill 18th-century British slave traders Members of Trinity House