Britain, Royal African Company 1694-1743 Browse
Browse through thousands of records from the Royal African Company. Findmypast has digitised thousands of passenger lists and records from the Royal African Company and provided them for free to search. The original passenger lists and records are housed in The National Archives in England.
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Browse through thousands of records from the Royal African Company. Findmypast has digitised thousands of passenger lists and records from the Royal African Company and provided them for free to search. The original passenger lists and records are housed in The National Archives in England.
Learn more about these records
The records found in this collection are retained by The National Archives, part of their T 70 series Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading with Africa and successors. They contain the names of thousands of individuals who travelled on board the Royal African Company’s ships to and from Africa as well as the names of those who lived and died at the numerous company forts. You can browse the records by searching for a specific year or by the archival reference. Below is a full list of the archival references and their descriptions. If you want to search for your ancestor by name, search the Britain, Royal African Company 1694-1743 which is available as a link in the Useful links and resources section.
The Royal African Company was a mercantile company from 1660 until it was dissolved in 1750. The company was first incorporated as the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading to Africa. Then it was reconstituted in 1672 as the Royal African Company of England. The Royal African Company held a monopoly over trade in West Africa. Until the 1730s, the company participated mainly in the slave trade to the British colonies. The Royal African Company was a crucial part of the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave trade was an abominable part of world history. It was a system that enslaved millions of African men, women, and children over several centuries. After years of campaigning for the abolition of slavery, the slave trade was abolished in Britain in 1807.
Since its formation, the Royal African Company established forts and trading posts along the African coast. The company set up its headquarters at Cape Coast Castle on the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). They brought traders, merchants, miners, carpenters, native interpreters, and even distillers to build their forts and African trading posts. You will also find the names of thousands of British soldiers who travelled with the company. From Africa, the company brought men, women, and children as slaves to the colonies, as well as gold, wax, and ivory. After the Royal African Company lost its monopoly of the slave trade, it focused its attention on the ivory and gold markets.
T 70/1435: Servants of the company: lists of passengers, 1702-1716
T 70/1436: Servants of the Company: lists of passengers, 1694-1711
T 70/1437: Servants of the company: lists of passengers, 1712-1743
T 70/1438: Servants of the Company: lists of passengers & crews, 1700-1719
T 70/1439: Servants of the company: lists of passengers & crews, 1720-1739
T 70/1440: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1673-1675
T 70/1441: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1684-1689
T 70/1442: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1688-1696
T 70/1443: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1690-1699
T 70/1444: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1701-1702
T 70/1445: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1702-1714
T 70/1446: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1716-1726
T 70/1447: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1726-1740
T 70/1448: Servants of the company: lists of living & dead at the forts, 1740-1746
T 70/1454: Servants of the company, 1760-1815
T 70/1455: Servants of the company: register of all officers, 1760-1787
T 70/1456: Servants of the company: register of all officers, 1760-1815
T 70/1507: List of freemen of the Royal African Company of England, May 1720
T 70/1508 Item 1: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of London, Jan 1787
T 70/1508 Item 2: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of Liverpool
T 70/1508 Item 3: List of the freemen of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for London, Bristol & Liverpool, June 1758
T 70/1508 Item 4: List of the freemen of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for London, Bristol & Liverpool, June 1759
T 70/1508 Item 5: List of the freemen of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for London, Bristol & Liverpool, June 1756
T 70/1508 Item 6: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of London, Jan 1787
T 70/1508 Item 6: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of London, Jan 1787
T 70/1508 Item 6: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of London, Jan 1787
T 70/1509: List of the company of merchants trading to Africa, for the port of London, June 1778