This glossary contains all the glossed words in the History Footsteps programme

Alderman A Councillor who has been the Mayor of a City

Almshouse A home, supported by a charity, for the poor, sick, or elderly

Baptism Christian ceremony for naming a person and bringing them into the Christian religion

Clarkson Thomas Clarkson was a campaigner against slavery, a leading 'abolitionist'. He was a Quaker who gathered a lot of evidence about the slave trade and worled with others to make people aware of the horrors of slavery

Colston Edward Colston. Bristol merchant who made some of his money from Slavery, and who is remembered in Bristol by some as a generous donor to charity and by others as a slaver

Confirmation Christian ceremony making a person a full member of the church

Consulate The Official home and office of a diplomat, placed in one country by another to represent their business and other interests

Curate Person who is training to become a Vicar

Custom House Office used to collect Customs and other taxes at a Port

Dean Senior Vicar in a large church

Felix Farley's Local newspaper in the eighteenth century owned by local
Bristol Journal journalist and businessman Felix Farley

Freeman A person who is not a slave

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Wars between France and its neighbours from 1792 after the French Revolution (of 1789) and the creation of a French Republic and execution of Louis XVI (16th), and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. These wars lasted until 1815 when the French monarchy was restored and Napoleon imprisoned by the British. During this time many French colonies in the Caribbean were seized by the British

Grocer person who sells fruit and vegetables

Guinea The gold coin called a guinea takes its name from the West African gold (Guinea) coast. There was an elephant and castle on some of these coins, which came from the badge of the Royal African Company, the only British company allowed to trade in Africa before 1698. A Guinea is worth 21 old shillings (252 pence) , an old pound 20 shillings (240 pence)

Homeward Passage The 3rd stage in the Transatlantic Slave Trade carrying items grown or made in the Caribbean or the Americas, such as sugar or tobacco from from these places to Europe to sell

Huguenots French refugees who had come to Britain to escape religious persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Huguenots usually formed their own communities and became successful merchants and traders

Ivory the bone from elephant tusks

Manillas brass bracelets used as money on the West Coast of Africa to trade for slaves

Maroons Maroons were slaves in Jamaica who rose up against the plantation owners and fought for their freedom.

Merchant a trader of certain goods, buying them for one price and selling them to someone else for an increased price

Merchant The Society of Merchant Venturers was a group of rich Bristol
Venturers Merchants who owned and invested in slave voyages and other
activities related to the slave trade. There is still a Society in of Merchant Venturers in Bristol today

Methodists A Christian group, founded by John Wesley

Middle Passage The 2nd stage in the Transatlantic Slave Trade: carrying enslaved Africans from Africa to either the Caribbean islands or the Americas

Outward Passage The 1st stage in the Transatlantic Slave Trade carrying goods from Europe to trade in Africa for captured Africans

Plaque A sign fixed to a building to show historical details about the site or the people who lived there in the past.

Plantations A large area of farmland planed with particular crops. In this case farmed by slave labour.

Privateer A privately owned ship, which carried weapons and arms, and sometimes attacked other ships to seize their cargo

Public House a bar, open to the public, selling beers, wines and alcoholic spirits

Quaker Member of The Religious Society of Friends or Quakers, a Christian religious groups with a strong sense of morality and social justice (right and wrong)

Rector Vicar in charge of a church but who does not live in that parish

Redwood a tough hardwood used for high class furniture and other luxury items

Revolution A major change

Surgeon Doctor

Symbols Something which represents or stands for something else

Transatlantic The three stage journies by European traders making a profit Slave Trade from others, Goods went from Europe to be traded for people
in Africa. Enslaved Africans were sold in the Caribbean or Americas and the goods produced by this forced labour were sold back in Europe.

Warden Person who is responsible for looking after a place

Warehouses large buildings used for storing things safely

West Indies Islands in the Caribbean