Wealth Generation and Deployment in the Liverpool Slave Trade, 1750-1807: An Investigation of Cashflows

这篇论文涉及到跨大西洋奴隶贸易领域中最激烈的争论话题之一——所获得的利润水平以及这些利润是如何分配的。通过对一群利物浦奴隶贩子的深入调查，我将用我作为注册会计师的知识来重新审视这个争论。我的调查将把商人的奴隶贸易利润从他们的其他贸易企业中分离出来，然后确定这些财富是如何分配的。随着“黑人的命也是命”运动的兴起和要求赔偿的呼声越来越高，这样一项调查的相关性从未如此之大。它的趣味超出了学术史。《英国奴隶所有制遗产》研究了奴隶制带来的财富是如何渗透到英国社会的，但它的重点是奴隶所有制，而不是奴隶贸易。在利物浦的历史背景下，对一群奴隶贩子进行集中的财务分析，在学术论述中基本上是缺失的。这个项目重新审视了围绕奴隶贸易盈利能力的争论，以及它是否推动了利物浦的发展，甚至推动了工业革命。我调查的关键是建立奴隶贸易活动和商人财富之间的联系。最近的两项研究旨在追溯奴隶贸易产生的利润与利物浦的发展。Longmore（2007）试图调查“奴隶贸易对18世纪晚期利物浦的文化、物质和经济影响”，Pope（2007）探索了奴隶商人对财产的投资，旨在衡量他们的社会抱负。两人都指出，如果不进行更详细的调查，就不可能将奴隶贸易的收益与他们的其他贸易活动的收益区分开来。Nicholas Radburn（2009）将商人William Davenport的奴隶贸易利润从他的其他商业投资中分离出来，然而他的调查重点并不是Davenport财富的分配。这项研究将为Longmore， Pope和Radburn的工作提供所需的详细调查，并对利物浦奴隶贸易财富的产生和支出有更深入的了解。为了承担这个项目，我将把我作为一名会计师的专业知识与我在准备获奖硕士论文时发展起来的研究技能相结合。

This thesis relates to one of the most hotly debated topics in the field of the transatlantic slave trade -the level of profits achieved and how these profits were deployed. By in-depth investigation of a group ofLiverpool slave traders, I will use my knowledge as a chartered accountant to re-examine this debate. Myinvestigation will isolate the merchants' slave trade profits from those of their other trading ventures andthen ascertain how that wealth was deployed. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement andgrowing calls for reparations, the relevance of such an investigation has never been greater. It is ofinterest beyond academic history. The Legacies of British Slave Ownership project, looks at how wealthfrom slavery permeated British society, however its emphasis is on slave ownership rather than the slavetrade. A focussed financial analysis of a group of slave traders, contextualised in the history of Liverpool,is largely absent from the academic discourse.This project takes a fresh look at the debate around the profitability of the slave trade and whether it fuelled the growth of Liverpool and indeed the industrial revolution. Key to my investigation will be establishing the link between slave trading activities and the merchants' wealth. Two recent studies have aimed to trace profits generated by the slave trade to the development of Liverpool. Longmore (2007) sought to investigate the "cultural, physical and economic impact of the slave trade on late eighteenth-century Liverpool", and Pope (2007) explored the investments of slave merchants in property and aimed to gauge their social aspirations. Both caveat their work by stating that without more detailed investigation it was not possible to distinguish slave trade gains from those of their other trading activities. Nicholas Radburn (2009) isolated merchant William Davenport's slave trading profits from his other business ventures, however the focus of his investigation was not on the deployment of Davenports wealth. This study will provide the detailed investigation required to build upon the work of Longmore, Pope and Radburn and allow greater insights into both the generation and disbursement of Liverpool's slave trade wealth. In order to undertake this project, I will blend my expertise as an accountant with research skills developed whilst preparing my prize-winning Masters dissertation.