Liverpool, the African Trade and Revolution, 1773 to 1808
This is a portrait of Liverpool and its role in the rape of a continent, set against the background of two revolutions.
Using extracts from contemporary sources to bring the past to life, it provides a unique window on urban society,
slavery and warfare during the reign of George III.
An average of eighty ships a year left Liverpool's quaysides filled with Indian and Manchester cloths, casks of brandy
and wine, muskets and powder kegs, to be bartered for slaves with African merchants and princes. The stark realities of
this pernicious trading partnership are revealed in ships' papers and first hand accounts that are, in part, the subject
of this book. However, this is also a story of desperate naval encounters, as told by those involved, and Redcoats
struggling against the forces of nature and revolution in America, France and the Caribbean. As Britain's second major
port, Liverpool did not escape the conflicts of the age.
But central to this canvas are its narrow, crowded streets and alleys, the clatter of iron rims on stone, the odour
of tallow fat and dung, and a bustle that falls still with the blackness of night. Here we find wealth and poverty
living cheek by jowl, and politics at its most corrupt, fuelled by drunken revelry and mob culture. Here, too,
immorality in the workhouse, and petty thieves mixing promiscuously in the grounds of the Tower Gaol. For light
relief, enjoy a melodramatic performance at the Theatre Royal, but be sure to take a dose of Robberd's Nervous
Volatile Essence before you do.
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