William Archibald Douglas
William Archibald Douglas was the son of Archibald Douglas, of Stoke
Damerell, Devon, an officer in the company of merchants trading to
Africa in the 1790s.
William Douglas, who was stationed at
Cape Coast Castle(1) (in modern day Ghana) as secretary to Archibald Dalzel, governor in chief of the settlements on the west coast of
Africa (1792-1799), seems to have been involved in importing goods to Africa to
sell on, probably as part of the slave trade. He had business
interests in shipping sailing between England, Africa and the West
Indies.
One such ship was the Perserverance for which
expenses, for a voyage from Liverpool to Africa, thence to the West
Indies, and from the West Indies back to England, include the cost
of provisions for the crew and slaves, commission on the sale of the
slaves, estimate of the price to be paid per slave and an estimate
of profits.
It seems likely that he was involved in the gun
trade. His niece, Isabella Strutt, daughter of Isabella, married
into the Galton family. A report to Parliament in 1788 found that
Birmingham had over 4,000 gun makers, with 100,000 guns a year going
to slave traders. Although Quakers were later leaders in the cause
of abolition, one of the leading gun manufacturers in Birmingham was
the Quaker firm of Farmer and Galton. It is known that that firm
also sent the Perseverance to the West Indies with 527 slaves on
board.
Douglas, intending to return to England for a few
months to improve his health in 1799, left with £12,000 worth of
gold dust and elephants’ teeth and a favourite slave. At Madeira
however, Douglas was persuaded to go ashore, but overnight, he
disappeared, with the gold and his slave, and was reported dead.
The will of William Archibald Douglas, 'late of London but now
of Cape Coast Castle, Africa' details monetary bequests to Douglas's
uncle Samuel Pett and to his executors, as well as a bequest to his
nephew John Douglas Cooper of a gold watch and seal. The remainder
of his fortune was to be shared among his sisters Susannah Cooper,
Isabella Strutt and Charlotte Fox.
Notes:
1. Cape Coast Castle is a fortification in Ghana built by
Swedish traders. The first timber construction on the site was
erected in 1653 for the Swedish Africa Company and named Carolusborg
after King Charles X of Sweden. It was later rebuilt in stone.
In
April 1663 the whole Swedish Gold Coast was seized by the Danes, and
integrated in the Danish Gold Coast. In 1664 the Castle was
conquered by the English and was extensively rebuilt by the
Committee of Merchants (whose Governors administered the entire
British colony) in the late 18th century. In 1844, it became the
seat of the colonial Government of the British Gold Coast. It was a
destination for pardoned convicts, many taken from the hulks.
Conditions were hard, and only about 24 of the original 200
survived.
The Castle was built for the trade in timber and gold.
Later the structure was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The
Castle, or Castle and Dungeon, to give it its official name, was
first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department.
The Cape Coast Castle, and other forts and castles in Ghana, are
included on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. This historic site was
visited by the US President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama and
family on July 11, 2009.
2. Archibald Douglas's (William Archibald's father) business
interests included a privateer ship called the 'Fox', which he
part-owned, commanded by James Verco.
See also:
The Slave Trade
Douglas slave trade letters
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