Maria Rye’s Selection
White Slavery & Miss Rye's Selection
Excerpts from the Moe Seminar 5 September 1992, Florence Chuk
Long before African slaves were taken to America, Bristol (in England) was the centre of a thriving slave trade.
At the time of the Norman Conquest, Bristol was doing a great trade in slaves, particularly young women. Slavery existed all over England at that time, but Bristol was acknowledged as the centre of it all. Slave traders from all over England met in Bristol to sell or exchange their wares.
Bristol vessels ran a shuttle service to Ireland, carrying over slaves and bringing back Irish goods. ... They ensured the future of slavery by paying William the First a duty on every sale.
All good things come to an official end, and the Bishops of England denounced the trade to the King, and urged him to drop his financial interest in it. Slavery was officially sopped - but when Henry II invaded Ireland a century later, he found large numbers of English slaves. (Henry II for some obscure reason, gave the city of Dublin to the City of Bristol, and in moved the Bristolians. The Irish were forced out - but they were not easily subdued and eventually had their city to themselves again - after a massacre0.
Bristol people never forgot how profitable slaving had been. When settlement of North America began, a new market opened up. In 1648, during the Civil War, Cromwell took thousands of Scottish prisoners. Bristol dusted off the cobwebs and a new breed of slavers applied for the liberty to transport 500 Scottish prisoners to the plantations. Off they went, to be followed by more defeated Royalist Scots after the battle of Worcester in 1651. The Irish followed just one year later, when the Governor of Waterford was told to deliver to three Bristol merchants as many Irish prisoners as they wanted. They took 200 men - off to the plantatinos of Barbados. However, like all good things for merchants, the civil war came to an end.
The Bristol merchants found other fish to fry - they began to kidnap local children for the slave trade. This raised such indignation amongst parents in 1654 the Council passed a law -
""to prevent the kidnapping of boys, maids and others and transporting them beyong the seas and there disposing of them for private gain ""
