Guest Blog Post - Adam

"In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand." Neil Armstrong

In this blog I will be talking about research and its possible links to the Archive.

Research is very useful for an Archive as it helps to expand the material you already have, can help to open new lines of enquiry and often provides answers for questions that come up whilst looking at the material in the Archive. It is also useful for the Archive as it can allow you to locate material that can be found in other archives in the area. As a student studying History, it is a very important and necessary skill that can help in Third Year when undertaking a dissertation, which heavily depends on research to be successful.

Map of the Atlantic Slave Trade

I am undertaking a dissertation based upon the Atlantic Slave Trade or simply ‘The Trade’ and Saltford Brass Mill which will focus on how Bristol, Saltford in particular, benefited from the brass trade and the Slave Trade. It will also look at the connection between brass and slavery to shed light on the little known story of the first part of the Triangular Trade. The Coster family owned the Saltford Brass Mill and also co-owned 6 slave ships and form the basis for the dissertation. As a result of owning the brass mill and co-owning slave ships, the Coster family were making money from the trading of goods to the African tribes, transporting of slaves from Africa to America and the shipping of raw materials from America back to Bristol.

    

The Coster family was not the only family involved in the Slave Trade. Another family involved was the Champion family, owners of the Warmley Brass Works, and were known to be involved in the Slave Trade. It was William Champion (1709-1789) who led the Warmley Brass Works into bankruptcy in 1769.    

Thomas Coster (1684-1739), owner of Saltford Brass Mill

The Merchant Venturers evolved from a Guild of Merchants which existed in the 1200s. They managed Bristol’s harbour from the 16^th Century until the early 19^th Century. During the 18^th Century, the Merchant Venturers became involved with shipping of manufactured goods to Africa and sugar, molasses and rum from America to Bristol.

Merchant Venturers Coat of Arms

The Merchant Venturers owned many of the docks in Bristol and so must have made money from the ships that took the goods to Africa. 

We have read that the Langton family of Newton Park had connections to a shipping business on the ‘Welsh Back’ in Bristol and that it created the wealth the family had. The 'Welsh Back' was where trade with Wales took place, as goods from, and for, South Wales were loaded and unloaded onto sailing barges. As the map below shows, the 'Welsh Back' is near Queen Square (built between 1700 and 1718) where some of the house were built by people linked to the Slave Trade. Could the 'Welsh Back' have been used for the shipping of slaves to Wales or the shipping of brassware to Bristol for the buying of slaves in Africa?

Map of Welsh Back, Bristol Docks

With the house at Newton Park being built in 1761 by Joseph Langton, whose brother Thomas was a Mayor of Bristol and a Merchant Venturer, could it be argued that the Langtons were involved in the Trade? Where did their wealth come from? Did the Langtons still possess a shipping business on the 'Welsh Back' during the height of the Slave Trade? Did the Langtons have any contact or dealings with the Coster or Champion families? What were the Langtons shipping to and from South Wales? Were the Gore-Langtons supporters of the abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807? Were the Gore-Langtons supporters of the abolition of slavery in 1833?

By continuing with this dissertation I hope to be able to have light shed on these questions and hope to be able to provide help to the Archives. Answering these questions can lead to more material being added to the Archives and can lead to other paths of research as a result. Without research an archive will not develop and will not gain any new information besides what may be donated or left to them.