Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - A kind os East India Brown bess with Elephant mark

PClemente · 12th January 2013, 05:52 PM

Hi,
Interesting piece you have there. Initially thinking an early 19th century trade gun and some research leads me to believe it belonged to the "Company of Merchants Trading to Africa". The company used the elephant with castle mark to show ownership of its guns, and was heavily involved in the African slave trade. The original company, called the Royal African Company, was founded in the late 1600's. To quote a response in regards to a similar musket in a post several years ago, " This company had a monopoly in the slave trade, but eventually succumbed to the free trade movement which saw the charter of the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa in 1750. The new company, composed of nearly 400 Liverpool, London, and Bristol merchants, and taking advantage of tribal wars, supplied muskets to local kings and paramount rulers upon whom the slavers depended on the flow of slaves from the inner continent to the trading forts established in Gambia and Senegal. The company, along with some other chartered companies, continued its activity in the slave trade and expanded into the trade for gold and ivory as well as slaves. As mentioned previously, muskets, gunpowder and lead were furnished to powerful local rulers in exchange for slaves, but were also used to arm local white or native contingents around the company forts. Textiles, purchased by the company from the HEI company were also used as trade goods. The Company of Merchants trading to Africa ended its operations in the slave trade in 1821.

Depending on the style of the musket in question, it could have been made between 1750 and 1821. The majority seem to have been quite cheaply made, but were patterned after the government's Brown Bess, though not of sufficeint quality to pass inspection for government service. Calibres were nominally .68 to .70, similar to fusils made for the Army. In fact, Galton, who supplied huge numbers of trade muskets for the company, produced muskets and fusils for the British Army."
Hope this leads you in the right direction!

12th January 2013, 05:52 PM	#5
PClemente Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 42	Hi, Interesting piece you have there. Initially thinking an early 19th century trade gun and some research leads me to believe it belonged to the "Company of Merchants Trading to Africa". The company used the elephant with castle mark to show ownership of its guns, and was heavily involved in the African slave trade. The original company, called the Royal African Company, was founded in the late 1600's. To quote a response in regards to a similar musket in a post several years ago, " This company had a monopoly in the slave trade, but eventually succumbed to the free trade movement which saw the charter of the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa in 1750. The new company, composed of nearly 400 Liverpool, London, and Bristol merchants, and taking advantage of tribal wars, supplied muskets to local kings and paramount rulers upon whom the slavers depended on the flow of slaves from the inner continent to the trading forts established in Gambia and Senegal. The company, along with some other chartered companies, continued its activity in the slave trade and expanded into the trade for gold and ivory as well as slaves. As mentioned previously, muskets, gunpowder and lead were furnished to powerful local rulers in exchange for slaves, but were also used to arm local white or native contingents around the company forts. Textiles, purchased by the company from the HEI company were also used as trade goods. The Company of Merchants trading to Africa ended its operations in the slave trade in 1821. Depending on the style of the musket in question, it could have been made between 1750 and 1821. The majority seem to have been quite cheaply made, but were patterned after the government's Brown Bess, though not of sufficeint quality to pass inspection for government service. Calibres were nominally .68 to .70, similar to fusils made for the Army. In fact, Galton, who supplied huge numbers of trade muskets for the company, produced muskets and fusils for the British Army." Hope this leads you in the right direction!