Thomas Earle (slave trader)

For a UK parliamentary commission dated 3 March 1790, the company was listed as the sixth biggest in Liverpool.

One of their ships Liverpool Hero left Calabar with 560 enslaved people, but 330 of them died before arriving at Dominica.

[6] An account of the Earle's slave trading was recorded by William Butterworth, a boy who was tricked into signing up to sail on Hudibras.

Butterworth described the practice of using "Pawns"; an African slave trader would take payment in advance of delivering captives, but leave a relative of theirs on board.

[9] Britain was at war, but the captain of Annabella, John McClure, bought 140 male and 63 female enslaved people from the Governor of Elmina, which was controlled by the Dutch, an enemy state.

[10] Captain Dickson had orders to sail the African coast and capture enemy vessels, when he received news that Annabella was moored off Elmina he set sail to investigate and discovered that McClure had bought the enslaved people from the enemy.

Earle's insurers Lloyd's of London listed the ship as confiscated "for illicit trade".

[15] A collection of papers and documents relating to the Earle family is held by the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool.

They were discovered by David Richardson of Hull University, and in 1993 the owner Sir George Earle donated them to the Maritime Museum.