The Slave Trader

The Story of Bryan Blundell, Master Mariner, Philanthropist and Slave Trader
In the late summer of 1754, Bryan Blundell stood at Liverpools bustling waterfront a man whose life traced the citys rise from market town to maritime powerhouse. From humble beginnings as a cabin boy, he became captain, merchant, philanthropist, and twice mayor. He founded the Blue Coat School, left a lasting civic legacy, and helped shape the Liverpool we know today.But his fortune, like the citys, was bound to the Atlantic slave trade. Ships he owned and ventures he financed tied his name to immense human suffering.Drawing on Blundells own journal alongside shipping records, sermons, and civic archives, this book offers a vivid, unflinching portrait of both a man and a city one of ambition, faith, and contradiction. It is a story not just of prosperity and philanthropy, but also of the hidden costs that underpinned them.