William Smith (surveyor)

William Smith was a surveyor employed by the Royal African Company in 1726 to survey their forts in West Africa. His account of the trip, A new voyage to Guinea was published posthumously[1] in 1744, with a second edition in 1745.

The full title of his book was A new voyage to Guinea: describing the customs, manners, soil, manual arts, agriculture, trade, employments, languages, ranks of distinction climate, habits, buildings, education, habitations, diversions, marriages, and whatever else is memorable among the inhabitants.[2] In this book he gave an account if many places in West Africa including:

Upon his return to London in September 1727, his report indicated that the Royal African Company could not afford the maintenance costs of the Forts, amounting to about £13,500 in 1731. The British parliament voted for annual subsidy of £10,000, in order for them to be properly maintained. Robert W. Harms argues that this subsidy was in recognition of the importance of maintaining a British presence on the Gold Coast, as the supply of slaves produced significant profits not so much from the slave trade as from the exploitation of slave labour in the Americas.[3] In many ways this made up for the loss of 10% of the profits of independent slave traders which the company had received from 1698 to 1712.[3]

References
  1. Burton, Richard (1864). A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome. London: Tinsley Brothers.
  2. Smith, William (1745). A new voyage to Guinea (Second ed.). London: John Nourse.
  3. Harms, Robert (2002). The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds Of The Slave Trade. New York: Basic Books.
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