Catalogue description Ledgers

Ledgers recording the company's trading activities, mostly in Cape Coast Castle and Gambia . There are also four volumes relating to Jamaica. Some of the volumes are indexed. The ledgers consist of entries of payments relating to the running of the company's various forts and factories, and the Cape Coast Castle ledgers contain information on expenses for other forts, including Anamaboo, Commenda, Succondee, Dixcove, Apollonia, Winnebah, James, Williams and Tantumquerry. The entries also include payments for: stores, provisions, guns and gunpowder, payments to named employees, salaries to African and European employees (not named), charges for the upkeep of slaves at the various forts and for the use of canoes and small craft.

The entries for Gambia relate to James Fort and and the various factories (Gillyfree, Yanumarue etc) on or near the River Gambia. They include payments relating to: shipments of slaves, wages to employees, voyages up the river, muskets, pistols, gunpowder, lead balls and shot, various types of cloth, knives, ivory, gold, silver, iron bars and animal hides. The ledgers also include many lists of named individuals, some of whom owed money to the company for goods advanced to them.

The ledgers for Jamaica include two which date back to the first few years of the company's existence. They include a number of entries of transactions with various named individuals (possibly the company's agents) involving slaves. Some of the transactions appear to relate to exchanges, as in '50 negros for 1 boy 1 girle'.