SLO# 7 Captain and Owner, John Powell (initial)

After analyzing the Voyages database, I found John Powell (& Company) owned multiply ships that embarked on 52 voyages during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade from 1765 to 1788. Approximately 15,900 African slaves embarked on these large ships, and approximately 3,000 Africans lives were lost during their course including 430 slaves perishing from one shipwreck.

What I found interesting was John Powell captained 6 voyages himself. In 1765, he commanded the Sam, in 1767 for four consecutive years the Mentor and in 1776 the True Blue. Of the 6 voyages, over 2,000 African slaves embarked with 1,700 slaves surviving the journey.¹

 

In researching John Powell, I hope to find new discovers of how the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade affected the African people during the American Revolution (1763-1787).

1“Voyages”, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 2016, www.slavevoyages.org