SLO# 3 David Hamilton, Owner of Slave Ships (Initial)

After analyzing the Voyages database for information about Trans-Atlantic slave ship owners, I found David Hamilton was in the business of slaves from 1767-1778 during the American Revolution era. Hamilton owned multiple vessels that embarked on a total of 17 voyages. Nearly 6,000 African slaves were transported across the Trans-Atlantic with close to 700 Africans perishing at sea. I found one vessel, the Antelope, disembarked with 403 slaves and embarked with 396 slaves. I was surprised to find the mortality rate was 1.7% since 35-70 Africans perished on each trip across the sea on the remaining voyages.¹ Now with this new information from the database, I hope to find more information on the vessel owner, David Hamilton, and to examine the civilizations involved in Trans-Atlantic slave trade through multiple categories such as race, class, gender and ethnicity during the American Revolution era (1763-1787).

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