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Capt Peter Gwinn
Boston 12th January 1760
Sir
You Haveing Comand of my Schooner Phillis your Orders Are to Imbrace the First Favourable Opertunity of wind & wheather & proceed Directly for the Coast of Affrica, Touching First at Senegall if you fall in with it. On your arrivall there Cum to anchor with your VeSsell & go Up to the Facktory in your Boat & See if you Can part with Any of your Cargo to Advantage, If you Can So as at Least to double upon ye Cost or Better than you may Sell what part you Can & take prime Slaves for pay if Reasonable or Cash, but they must Not Cull your Cargo Unless thay give you a Good price, / if you Could Sell the whole of your Cargo thare to a Good Proffett & take Slaves & Cash & Cum Directly Home that would Shorten the Voyage Much, but this is not Very Likely to be the Case. ————
Must Spend as little Time as posible at Sinagal & than proceed Down the Coast to SereLeon & than make the best Trade you Can from place to place till you have disposed of all your Cargo & purcha [sed] your Compleat Cargo of Young Slaves Slaves which I sopose wil be about 70 or Eighty More or Less
I would Reacomend to you gowing to the Isle Delos if you Cant Finish Sereleon – Take None but Healthy Slaves & be Very Carefull in Examing them. & be Sure to bring as Fiew Women & Girls as possible, Whearever you Lay with your Schooner be Sure to Lay So As to be Seacure from Any of the Enemys VeSsells that may be Gowing
Up or Down the Coast. You must Obsarve your VeSsells Botton is Bare of Stuff & wants Graving be Sure Grave hur the Very First Opertunity you have & Keep hur Bottom Well paid with Stuff as often as you Can to Keep hur from the Worms – You have a Very Fine Cargo & well Sorted to Comand the Trade Every Article is of the Very Best Therefore hope you wont be Detained Upon the Coast Longer than ye 1th of May by Any Means, the Consequence you Know We have Experienced to be Bad, You & your people & Slaves will get Sick which will Ruin the Voyage, Whatever you have left Upon hand after April, Sell it altogeather for what you Can Get if Even at the First Cost Rather than Tarry Any Longer Tho your Cargo is so well Sorted that I make No Doubt you’l be able to Sell it all before that Time & to a good proffett, be Constantly Upon your Gard Night & Day & Keep good Watch that you May Not be Cutt of by Your Own Slaves / tho Neavor So Fiew On Board Or that you Are Not Taken by Sirprize by Boats from the Shore which has often ben the Case • Let your Slaves be well Lookd after properly & Carefully Tended Kept in Action by Playing Upon Deck, a full Tended in ye Half Deck & by All Means Keep up Thare Spirretts & when you Cum off the Coasts bring off a Full Allowance of Rice & water for a Ten Weaks Pasage Upon this your Voyage Depnds in a Grate Measure You’l See by Capt. Ellerys Book which I deliver you that Messr. Wallice & Ord Owe me Two Hundread & Ninty Barrs which I make no Doubt
but Thay will have Honour Enough to pay you & if you Can get Anything from Capt Rand. do— I have wrote to them by you & all Capt. Ellery’s Friends which I make no Doubt will Assist you Keep god Accompt of all your Trade you have Capt. Elerys Book for your Guide & Sketch of what I think it the Lowest you will Sell your Cargo at is What Capt. Ellery Sold at the worst of Times, by which you’l See you have More Cargo than Sufficiant to purchase your Cargo, Unless Sum Accident Happens, if you have anything left. Upon Hand After you are fully Slaved & Ric’d & Sell it for What it will fetch for Camwood Wax Leathr or anything Else Rather than Bring it Home On your PaSsage Homeward, if you find the Wind favours you more to go to Cape Leon than to Cum Hear you May go Thare & apply to my Friend Capt R Quince, who will Assist you in the Sail of your Cargo, but than I would take Nothing thare for SLaves but Gold & Silver and after you have Sold As many As you Can for Cash if Any left On hand bring them with You Home to Boston. This is Only in Case you Can make a Shorter Passage than Coming to Boston if you go thare you’l find Letters Loged with Mr Quince for your Govoumment. THare is One Thing I Must ImpreSs Upon Your Mind thM is By No means to fail wrighting me by Every Opportunity to Any part of the Cintinant, to any or all the Islands in the west Indies, by way of Tennerief, Or Any of te
Islands, or Even/ Via Europe/ Bristol or Liverpool, you May Frequently have Opertunitys + be Sure to wright as often As Opertunity presents. Soposing it was Ten Times in a Day, Ot of which it may be than One of Two may posibely Reach me Letters are in Warr Time Especially of Very Grate Sarvis in —Govouming Respecting Insurance- / + this is what I Reacomend + by no means would have you Omitt, Make no Debts & Mind you are Not Over Reachd in Trade giving the Prefference of your Cargo to Doctr. Clow & Others that you Know to be Sponsible men provided thay will give you as much as Another —— You must Tack One Article with Another & make that, that is the Demand Sell that, that Lay, Upon Hand whare you Can light of a Number of Likely Slaves to be Sold in a Lott Dont part for a Trifull for Such will give you dispatch which is all you Must Look & Aim at. Small preasents properly bestow’d upon Clow Dowdell & Such men as Can be of Sarvis to you is No Loss: — you may Gain 5 per. Ctt. in the Gage of your Rum Between Gunter & Rod, by all Means I Reacomend Industry Frugallity & dispatch which will Reacomend you to further Bussiness, Your Wages is Three pounds Ten Sterling per Month Three Slaves privlidge & Three per Ctt. Out of the Cargo of Slaves Delivered at Boston, This is all you are to have
I remain with wishing You a Good voyage Health & SucceSs & am Your Friend & Owner
Timothy Fitch
P.S. Endeavour to get as fiew Slaves as you Can with thare Swei’d Navell, which is a Hurt to the Sail Hear — if you Should by Any Accidentput into Any port upon ye Continant Homeward bound you may Sell as many Slaves as you Can for a Good Price & Ready pay & be Sure to advise me Every man has got his months pay. What Rum or any thing Else you dttd is Coast
Price
Your Signall when you Cum in will
be your Jack at Fore Topmast Head
Tim Fitch to Capt Gwinn
Letter of withstanding
Jan 4 1760
Letter reference number: P:11