John Knight (slave trader)
John Knight | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1708 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 1774 |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, slave trader |
| Years active | 1750–1775 |
| Known for | Overseeing at least 114 slave voyages transporting over 26,000 Africans; member of African Company of Merchants; trading out of Liverpool |
John Knight (1708–1774) was an English merchant involved in the transatlantic slave trade, overseeing no fewer than 114 voyages between 1750 and 1775. Throughout his career, he transported upwards of 26,000 Africans to destinations in the Americas. Based out of the Port of Liverpool, Knight acquired over 40% of his enslaved individuals from the Bight of Biafra (currently known as the Bight of Bonny) along the West African coastline, a prominent sourcing area for Liverpool-based traders. He maintained business relations with American politician and slaveholder Henry Laurens.
Early life
Born in Liverpool in 1708, Knight was the son of John Knight, who practiced as a physician.
Slave trade
Following the termination of the British Crown’s exclusive rights in 1750 and the subsequent collapse of the Royal African Company, Knight engaged extensively in slave trading from Liverpool. As part of the African Company of Merchants, he possessed ships including the slave vessel Fanny. In 1755, under Knight’s direction, Captain William Jenkins procured 171 Africans; Knight instructed Jenkins to sell them at £30 per person either in the West Indies or, if unsuccessful, within America. During this journey, twenty captives perished, while the remainder were sold in Saint Kitts.
Letters from Henry Laurens
Knight regularly transacted enslaved Africans with Henry Laurens, a notable American slave trader, plantation owner, and political figure during the American Revolutionary War. Their surviving correspondence sheds light on both commercial dealings and operational matters related to their trade.
Laurens expressed frustration over losses when his ship Emperor, commanded by Charles Gwynn and carrying 390 enslaved individuals, suffered a mortality of 120 en route to Charleston, South Carolina. Although Laurens exited the slave trade in 1762, Knight convinced him to re-enter briefly in 1763. Laurens attributed depressed enslaved person prices to diminishing demand caused by falling rice and indigo markets.
In 1755, Laurens alerted Knight to damage inflicted by shipworms on vessels used in the trade, mentioning that Knight’s ship Enterprise had been condemned due to decay from teredo worm infestation. Laurens also referred to an upcoming colonial assembly proposal intended to impose a tax and suspend the slave trade for three years starting in 1766—a regulation Laurens opposed but which ultimately passed.